


Counted

by Rfsak



Series: Counted [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Constipation, F/M, Female Character In Command, Fluff, Friends with Benefits gets complicated, Humor, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2020-10-02 00:22:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20446205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rfsak/pseuds/Rfsak
Summary: A smart shinobi knows their days are numbered, a wise shinobi counts their blessings too. Kakashi/Ume





	1. Day 9490

**Author's Note:**

> This is the chaptered fic that started the Kakashi/Ume universe. I'm expanding, editing and rewriting so I should be able to post weekly. Drop me a line with questions, comments and concerns. 
> 
> Warnings for the chapter: Just drinking and having fun.

  
****  
_Day 9490_  
  


_12am_

Nagasaki Ume _felt_ painfully normal. 

After all, the circles she ran in featured the best and brightest of Konoha, men and women who used jutsu and techniques known only to them, people who were literally the only people who could do what they could.

Hell, at this table alone, she had: the only non-Uchiha to use the sharingan, both sons of a Hokage, one of the village’s most formidable genjutsu users, and a woman who had been personally trained by a sannin - the crazy one, sure, but he was still a genius.

She wasn’t like that. Not at all.

No, she didn’t possess any particular bloodline traits or any special family jutsus. Her family was deliciously civilian and poor as old dirt. Her maternal grandfather had been a mediocre ninja, but her father, who drank his paycheck nightly, worked unloading cargo for a grocer.

Despite this, despite manifold disadvantages, she was successful.

Partly that could be chalked up to force of personality. She was known to be stubborn and determined, to take a big bite of what she wanted, to dig her canines in and never let go. 

Additionally, Ume was a fast learner and she knew what it meant to work for work’s sake, not for honor, not because she needed to prove something to her family or her contemporaries. She had trained hard to get to where she was, never giving an inch to those who naysayed, who refused to accept her because her last name was Nagasaki and not Hyuuga or Uchiha or Hatake. 

She trained and worked and pushed not for the honor of her house, as whatever honor had existed in the Nagasaki name had been drained out of a shot glass years ago, but because it was right for man to work, for man not to be idle and because it would be a shame to see talent go to waste.

And she was talented.

Standing at a little over five and a half feet, her arms were long and strong, lending themselves well to taijutsu. While she certainly didn’t have the seemingly endless amounts of chakra those with dojustu had, she was proficient in the use of two- well two and a _half_ -chakra natures. 

She graduated at the top of her class three years younger than most of her peers, became a Chuunin a year later and a Jounin by the age of fourteen. Two years later she was recommended for service in the ANBU Black Ops by the Hokage, for a ninja from a thoroughly civilian family, with no special abilities other than work ethic and guts, this was quite the accomplishment. 

She was smart, she was strong, and she was genuinely friendly. She thrived on the company of her friends, loved them dearly and fiercely, having known what truly alone felt like. 

She had truly known good fortune, despite the misfortune. 

She could consider herself truly blessed, if such a term existed in the normal vocabulary of a ninja.

She smiled broadly, a light flush on her cheeks as she sipped at her sake. Kakashi’s thigh pressed against hers. Anko kept the alcohol flowing and Kurenai was recounting some hilarity from a recent mission with her genin.

Asuma had forgone sitting veritably on top of Kurenai, as was his habit as of late, to sit on Ume’s other side, his arm running along the top of the booth behind her head. Even Hiru had ventured out of his library to join the party with his wife, Akemi. Sure, they’d be leaving soon to relieve the babysitter, but it was nice that they had come. And she’d see them tonight for her family birthday dinner.

She had the family she had always wanted. Life was good.

She felt a hand on her leg and pivoted her head to consider Kakashi.

“You doin’ alright?”

She shrugged, “Yep.”

“Look at that! It’s midnight!” Asuma threw his head back and put that booming voice to good use, “Happy birthday, Ume!”

The rest of the party, filtering around the bar in little cliches and group, responded. Jun had his arm around a very flustered Tenzou, shouting, “Happy birthday, Taicho!” at the top of his lungs. Hayate and Yugao broke away from their quiet conversation to smile in her direction as Raido and Genma started singing off key.

If she could drown herself in cheerful birthday wishes, she gladly would. 

She smiled fondly at Gai as he came over to wish her another youthful year.

Who, looking at the way her life began, would think she’d be here now?

She felt Kakashi move closer and the faint heat of his breath, muffled by his mask, against her ear. “Happy birthday, Ume.” 

She felt her face warm and smiled up at Kakashi. “Thanks, Kashi.”

“You two done?”

Ume jumped, as if a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar, and considered Anko on the other side of the table. Anko, funnily enough, wasn’t looking at her and Kakashi. She was staring at Kurenai and, by extension, at Asuma.

Kurenai sniffed, nose turning up. 

“Seriously, flirting at the great Nagasaki’s birthday party. Shameless. She is so disappointed in you. Aren’t ya, Ume?”

Ume frowned. “How did I get dragged into this?”

Kakashi shrugged, hand still on her thigh, forefinger tracing nonsensical patterns into her thigh. He did his discrete little drinking trick and settled back against the booth. “No idea.”

“We were just talking.” Asuma sipped at his sake.

“And making love with your eyes.”

_Wait…_ Kakashi was tapping something against the fabric of her trousers. _Morse Code._

B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y-S-E-X

She grinned and turned to him. “How much longer do you reckon we have to stay?”

“Can’t steal the guest of honor too soon, I suppose.” Shrugging, Kakashi kept spelling. 

I-W-A-N-T-T-O-T-A-S-

Ume’s tongue snuck out to wet her bottom lip, Kakashi’s eyes watching the movement.

Anko shrugged. “That too. The fact remains that you two should just save us all the pain and make it official. Ume agrees with me, don’t ya?”

Everyone turned to look at her and she froze, turning half over her shoulder to considered the ninja now considering her. She suddenly realized that her hand had drifted to Kakashi’s leg in return and had landed significantly higher on Kakashi’s leg. She retracted it slowly. “I’m sorry?”

“Stop staring wistfully into Kakashi’s eyes and focus, woman.” Anko pouted. “Should Asuma and Kurenai just make it official and stop torturing us with all this 'are they, aren’t they' bullshit?”

“I don’t feel tortured. I mean... I've been tortured. This doesn't feel like torture.”

“Answer the question.”

Ume shook her head and took another swig of sake. “Oh no, no ma’am, I’m in no fit state to offer an opinion. I’ve been drinking.”

“The runt for the win.” Asuma jostled her shoulder affectionately. “She’s got my back.”

Anko glared at her and mouthed _pussy_.

“Well, I certainly do possess one.” Ume nodded sagely. “And I enjoy it, generally speaking.”

“I’m sure Kakashi does too.”

Everyone stared at Anko.

“Too far?”

Ume nodded. “Yeah, man. Not appropriate conversation in public at least...”

Anko cackled. “Too fuckin’ bad, losers. I’m not getting fucked on the reg and you all are going to suffer for it.”

Kakashi made a face that managed to convey his disdain for the topic at hand, despite the mask. “We have to listen to you because you aren’t having sex?”

“We’re the losers because you aren’t getting fucked?” Ume shrugged and glanced down into her sake cup. “I thought that would make us winners… comparatively at least.”

“2-0 Ume up!” Asuma threw his head back and laughed as Anko gaped at Ume. 

“You bitch!” Anko looked almost impressed. 

Ume shrugged. “Just saying. Also I don’t really know why this is so interesting to you.”

Anko considered that. “Well, you two aren’t really all that interesting-”

Kakashi snorted. “Gee thanks.”

“-but these two idiots… they are fascinating.”

Kurenai rolled her eyes. “I’ll bite, why?”

Anko shrugged. “What fun is it to tease people who don’t care if you know about their personal life? _Everyone_knows that Ume and Kakashi have been screwing each others’ brains out for years, because, other than common discretion, they haven’t tried to hide it. You, on the other hand, _you_ blush like a lovelorn virgin and Asuma tries to avoid the subject. It’s fun, _you make it fun_.” Kurenai seethed and Anko grinned. “‘Sides, I don’t really expect them to ever get married. They just really aren’t the domestic types, ne?”

Kurenai threw her hands in the air and Asuma downed another cup of sake. “Can we talk about anything else? Literally anything else.”

Ume pouted at Anko. “I’m domestic...”

Kakashi snorted. “You can’t even boil water.”

Ume shrugged. “Neither can you.”

Anko shook her head. “The fact that neither of you denied your relationship only further emphasizes my point.”

Kakashi shrugged. “What’s the point in arguing? You force us to talk about it anyway.” 

“Then why don’t you make it official?”

Kakashi glanced at Ume who shrugged. “What is this obsession with official? What does it matter? What does it even mean?”

“Don't go all existential on me now, bitch. That’s Kakashi’s game.”

* * *

_8am_

“I want to die.” Ume squinted at Kakashi. “You weren’t supposed to let me drink so much.”

Kakashi chuckled, mask down around his neck. “I tried, but Gai snuck you one when I was trying to corral Jun and Tenzou.”

“Stupid Jun and Tenzou…”

“Get out of bed. You begged me to wake you up in the morning. I am. Now get up.”

“No! I’m dying, Kashi. Have some sympathy.”

“You’re fine. This isn’t your first or worst hangover.”

“But it’s my birthday!” 

“Happy birthday. You’re 26. Get up and act like it.”

She kicked at his shin sluggishly. “Rude.”

Kakashi shrugged, batting away her foot. “Don’t care. It’s time for you to sober up, you have dinner with your family later.”

“You sure you don’t want to come? The invitation has been extended to you, you know.” Ume reached for his hand. “It’s not like the Old Man is ignorant or blind.”

“I’m not worried about your dad, I’m worried about your mom and Hiruzen.” Kakashi smiled and let her catch and hold his hand, setting a bottle of painkillers on the table next to a previously deposited glass of water. “As it is, he tries to corner me every time he sees me.”

Ume snorted. “Hiru is a teddy bear. All bark no-“

“If you say ‘no bite,’ I’m going to drag you out of that bed by your ankle.” 

She snickered. “You could probably take him. He’s a bookworm.”

_“Probably?”_

“I said what I said.” She reached over for the painkillers and popped two into her mouth.

“Regardless, I also don’t really want to have to deal with your mother looking at me like I’ve deflowered her daughter.”

She sipped her water and waggled her eyebrows at him.

He shot her a look. 

She scoffed. “As if Biwako would be shook by such nonsense. She is made of steel. She has seen much worse.” She grinned at him. “I want to be her when I grow up.”

“Best start learning medical ninjutsu now.” Kakashi rolled his eyes. “Get up. I have coffee ready.”

She rolled onto her back and tugged at his hand. “Bring me coffee.”

“No. Get up or I’ll pull you out of bed, bare ass and all.” Kakashi shook his head. “This is why I refuse to play your nursemaid. You throw such a fit.”

She huffed and forced herself to stand up. “So mean.” She pulled one of Kakashi’s shirts out of his drawer in her dresser and nabbed a pair of her underwear. “Hey Kakashi! Are you at least making a cup for me? It’s my birthday-“

“Nagasaki-taichou.” The ANBU dropped into a crouch outside of her living room window, head bowed and porcelain animal mask firmly in place.

She cursed and backtracked into her bedroom to grab a pair of pants. When she emerged, Kakashi was standing in the kitchen, mask in place, as far from the window as he could manage in the small apartment.

Two cups of coffee sat on the counter.

She murmured ‘thanks’ and nabbed the cups as she made for the window, inviting the messenger in. “What’s up?” She passed him the cup.

“The Hokage has called a meeting.” The cup was passed back, drained.

“I’ll be there.” Ume sighed and dismissed the messenger. Running the back of her neck, she smiled wryly. “Duty calls and on my birthday of all days. Hopefully, I get out in enough time to get changed before dinner.”

“See you tonight?” Kakashi smiled. “After your dinner, ‘course.”

Ume shrugged. “Depends what the deal is. We’ll see...” She leaned up and kissed him lightly through his mask. “If the world isn’t ending and they don’t send me out to save puppies or somethin’, I’ll be there”

He chuckled and whispered against her lips. “I’ll wait up. My place or yours?”

“Mine.”

“Sounds good. I believe I owe you birthday sex… seeing as you weren’t really able to participate this morning.”

Ume laughed outright. ‘Did you try? Did I do anything embarrassing?”

Kakashi made for the bedroom, where he would stay until she left in uniform. “Nope. You passed out as soon as you hit the bed. You did tell me that my hair was sexy though.” The door closed behind him.

“Drunk me has always had great taste.” Ume laughed again and closed the blinds across her window.

After pushing her coffee table against her couch and rolling back the rug, a quick succession of hand signs released the chakra seal on the floor. She lifted up some of the floor boards and reached inside the compartment found there; grunting quietly, as she pulled a heavy chest out of the floor. She released the seal on the chest and unlocked the chest before reaching in and pulling out her ANBU armor and weaponry. She piled it on her couch, checking that she had everything she would need then turned, locking the box once more and placing it back under the floorboards. 

After sealing the entrance once more and smoothing the rug back, she stripped out of her standard navy blue uniform and dressed with practiced ease, slipping her sleeveless black shirt over her head and black pants over her hips and strapping on her tall shin guards and black sandals. 

Long black gloves were secured mid-bicep by hidden garters than covered by silver forearm guards, weapons packs were checked, double checked and then secured to her waist and leg. She strapped on her chest plate and fixed her katana to her back. She reached up and removed her hitai-ate, folded it and tucked it into her chest plate, before shrugging on her white cloak and doing up the toggles.

She pulled her white hood over her head and fixed her Weasel mask over her face then left with another quick series of hand signals.

* * *

Dropping silently behind the other ANBU squad leaders, Ume rose and faced the Hokage.

The group waited in silence for a few more captains to arrive and then the Hokage spoke, “The bi-annual Chuunin exams have been scheduled for a few weeks from now. As you know, however honored we are to be hosting them this year, the hosting nation is always in a uniquely vulnerable position. In addition, we have received some intel that has led us to believe that this year’s competition may be more eventful than what is normal.

“This intel is shaky at best and rather vague, but fortune favors the prepared, so we are going to place twice the usual number of four-man squads on Exam duty. In addition three Tokubetsu Jounin will be replacing the normal Jounin Proctors. Keep your guard and be constantly vigilant. If you see or hear of anything suspicious, be sure to report it to me directly.”

He paused and looked down at the stack of papers in his hands. “Bird, Boar, Cat, Weasel, Snake, Bull, Ox, Fish, Fox and Tiger, step forward.”

The ten captains stepped forward silently and the Hokage nodded. “You ten will lead the Exam duty teams. Snake and Bull: your teams will cover all possible entrances into the village. The identity of every foreign genin will need to be checked against our records and intelligence reports. Likewise, Ox and Fish, you will check the identities of any foreign chuunin or jounin. Fox and Tiger, you will be responsible for foreign dignitaries and Kage.

“Bird, Boar, Cat and Weasel: You will be responsible for surveillance of the actual exam rounds. You are to remain unseen and unnoticed unless absolutely necessary and are not to interfere in any fight unless I give you a direct order.

“Bird, you will watch the first round, Boar and Cat the second. Weasel, as our most experienced squad leader, you will preside over the third. In the event that an actual threat is acknowledged, all five surveillance squads are to report to the arena for duty under Weasel’s command, unless otherwise directed.”

“Do you understand the assignment?” The room remained silent, the curt nods of porcelain masks the only sign that the ninja had heard at all.

“Good you may leave. Teams will be picked upon assessment of squad needs. Weasel, a word.”

Ume kept quiet and knelt at the Hokage’s feet.

“You will be my personal guard until the end of the exam period and you will report to my office tomorrow morning in your Jounin uniform in order to help me pick teams. Understood?”

Ume nodded and then spoke for the first time in the last hour. “Permission to speak, my Lord Hokage.”

He looked amused. “Granted.”

“If a legitimate threat were to be identified, may I suggest that Cat and his team take over your guard during the third round of the exam.”

His brow shot up. “Why, if I may ask?”

“I am honored that you would choose me to be your guard, but Cat is better at barrier jutsu and genjutsu. In the case that a serious threat was ever posed, you would be most vulnerable during that round, where you will be seated in one specific spot for a long period of time. Cat would then be able to respond and get you out of the arena or at least create a barrier around you to keep you safe and I would be better able to lead the two remaining squads as well as my own.”

He nodded. “Granted. You will remain my personal guard for the time being, until such a time as when you deem fit to elect Cat as your replacement.” He laid a hand on her head and ruffled her hair. “See you at dinner, Weasel. Go home and shower, you smell like a bar. Your mother will ask questions.”

“Yes, Lord Hokage.”

* * *

_9pm_

Ume unlocked her door and toed off her sandals, beaming as she noticed Kakashi’s sandals set neatly against the wall.

She set the presents her family had given her on the couch and called out, moving toward her bedroom. “Honey, I’m home.”

Kakashi lay shirtless in her bed- _best gift ever_ -reading.

He smiled back, his quiet unencumbered smile, showed off a row of white teeth and a beauty mark that was so much more impressive than his one-eyed squint smile. “I see that. Is the world ending? I see you didn’t have any puppies to save.”

She shook her head, they both knew she couldn’t say anything about the meeting, and walked over to the bed. 

“How was dinner?”

“Good.” She settled against the headboard next to him. “It was nice. All my favorite foods and most of my favorite people.”

He reached up and gently pulled the tie from her hair, fingers running idly through long, blonde waves. “Bit of the hair of the dog, I see.”

She winked. “Just a glass of wine. Not even buzzed. Should have no problem participating.” She leaned over and kissed him. “Happy birthday to me.”

Kakashi grinned and slipped a hand down under her shirt. “Happy birthday.” 

She stole his book and, glancing over the current page, she blushed. “Don’t get any ideas. I don’t know if I can bend that way, Kakashi.”

“We will have to see.


	2. Day 9491

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I'm a full-time master's student (with a full client load) and I work full-time. There just wasn't anytime this week! Literally! And I struggled a bit with how I was going to update and sort of grow this chapter up. I was easily in my early twenties when I published this (Shippuden wasn't even out yet *-*) and I can tell.

** __ **

Day 9491

“You don’t feel it, Old Man?”

“Feel what, flower?”

She smiled against the old nickname but sobered quickly. “Something heavy in the air, like thunder in the distance.”

“Hmm.” Sandaime puffed at his pipe. “I have no you nearly all of your life, Ume. I’ve never known you to be hesitant.”

She just barely managed not to flinch. “No, not hesitant. But a great man taught me to follow my instincts and they’ve been screaming at me.”

The Hokage smiled. “Flattery, clever.”

“Learned from the best there too.”

He snorted. “Surely not from me.”

She winked. “No, from Mom. Always did say a little flattery greased the wheels and could get me what I want.”

“And what is that?”

Ume looked down. “A full-time guard, day and night for the duration of the Exam.”

“I’m a very capable shinobi, daughter.”

Ume sat next to him on the tatami. “Of course you are. However, you also taught me that any shinobi fool enough to think himself invulnerable is asking for death.”

He considered that, quietly puffing on his pipe for a long pause. “You make a fine point.”

Ume brightened. “Really? Good!”

He grinned, Asuma and Hiru’s grin, and she found herself responding in kind. “You should have more confidence in yourself, flower. You are an exceptional shinobi and would make a fine politician one day too. I will consent to a guard- ANBU -just in case.”

She nodded-

“But it can’t be you. I need you to lead. In fact, as worried as you are I would be surprised if you did not consent to leading the whole exam ANBU squadron.”

She shot him a look. “A great politician, my ass.”

“You’re up against a master. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

* * *

Ume chewed on her lip.

Something wasn’t right. She’d fuckin bet her pension on it. 

She clawed down the intuition that was screaming for her to listen, to act, to do something.

Sat here in the Jounin Standby Station, there wasn’t much she could do, aside from her job. As of yet, there was no identified threat, no whisper of sabotage or espionage, just eerie, disconcerting silence.

So she sat and she waited, ear bud in her ear and “mission scroll” open in her lap. 

From the ear bud came a static-y message: “Bird in place.”

“Horse in place.”

“Bear in place.”

One more...”Lion in place.”

Ume checked the room silently and pressed the ‘push-to-talk’ button hidden in her glove. “Weasel listening.”

There was a pause and Bird’s voice came over the line. “Weasel-taichou, do you have any information to pass on?”

Ume idly read the scroll, editing without urgency as if a normal, everyday jonin. “Every foreign ninja passed the info checks. However, there is a team of Sound ninja entering the exams this year.”

A moment’s pause and then another crackling response... Bear this time: “Sound? Never heard of them.”

Ume chuckled. “I know.”

There were brief sounds of understanding from the other side. “Roger. What is their marker?”

“Music note. Very cutesy. Are you in position to hear the exams clearly?”

There was a cacophony of affirmative answers ending with Bird’s quiet. “Yes, Weasel-taichou.”

“At least one person should have eyes on the Genin at all times. Aside from that, listen for anything suspicious and report it to me. The Genin should be arriving shortly followed by Ibiki and his team. He will need some sign of your presence, but keep in mind that the Genin are not to know you’re there: suppress your chakra and mask your scent if at all possible.” Ume heard footsteps outside of the door. “I will check-in with you every fifteen minutes, if you do not answer the check-in call, I will assume you are dead and act accordingly. Got it?”

There was a chorus of yesses

“Good, in order to keep the noise down, I will not verbally respond to you until check-in. The click of the ‘push-to-talk’ will signal that I heard you. Remember that you shouldn’t speak unless you have something to report.”

A pause then an unanimous: “Roger.”

The door opened and closed. 

“You’re just chilling here by yourself, Brat?” 

The smell of cigarettes would have tipped her off, if the nickname hadn’t. “I’m doing paperwork like a real adult, Jerk.”

Asuma settled into the seat across from her, the one conveniently close to the ashtray. “And here I thought that you special agent types didn’t have to do paperwork like us poor peons.”

She smiled. “Nope, we have more paperwork than you poor peons.”

Asuma made as if to answer, but focused at some point over Ume’s head. As she turned to look over her shoulder, the door opened and closed and she rolled her eyes. She brought her hand over her mouth and threw her voice: “Calling Lover-boy, come in. World of the Living, Calling Lover-boy. Can you hear me?”

He glared at her and whispered around his cigarette. “Shut it, brat.”

“Welcome back, Jerk. That dumb grin of yours was starting to worry me.” Ume shot him a smug smirk before turning over her shoulder to greet Kurenai, who had diverted to the other side of the room for tea. “Hullo!”

Kurenai eyed her bright smile with a small amount of suspicion, but answered just as cheerfully. “Hi, Ume.” She turned to Asuma and smiled with a tad more sex appeal than was necessary, strictly speaking. “Hello, Asuma.”

Asuma smiled up at her and took his cigarette out of his mouth. “Hey.” He was still smiling at her when he noticed Ume making kissy faces at him. His smile fell abruptly and Kurenai looked over at her. Ume just smiled blithely back and Kurenai frowned, sitting next to Asuma.

As Asuma and Kurenai began to talk, a whisper came over her ear bud. “Weasel?” She clicked the push-to-talk button. “The Sound ninja are two males and a female, approximately 14-16 years of age. One of them uses some sort of air based attack. It’s hard to explain, but the boy with the wrapped face has some sort of apparatus attached to his forearm that manipulates air. He had a brief tiff with one of the Leaf Genin and, although the Leaf ninja dodged it with time to spare, the attack brought him to his knees.”

She kept her face neutral and committed the information to memory.

“Wait. It manipulates sound, it attacks the eardrum of his opponent, that has to be it. Outstanding. Where the hell did he get that?”

She signaled her response.

“Ume!” She looked up and saw Kakashi sitting next to her.

“Yes?”

He looked at her shrewdly. “What are you doing?”

She shrugged. “You know, paperwork.” But Kakashi knew better, ANBU members didn’t do paperwork, any and all mission reports were given to the Hokage, and only the Hokage, verbally, never written down. 

“Behind?” He let it drop.

She smiled at him. “A little. You know me. Paperwork is definitely not my favorite.”

He gave her a look that said he suspected something. Then again he had been suspecting things for the past two weeks. 

As an ex-ANBU and partner of an active ANBU captain, he was well aware that it was exceptionally odd for any ANBU, let alone a squad leader, to be off-duty for more than a few days. She hadn’t had a mission for two weeks and that nearly impossible barring two reasons: she was on medical leave or she was already on a mission.

He had intimate knowledge as to the health of her body, so that left one reason.

The group quieted down again, Asuma, Kurenai and Kakashi, discussing their students. Ume mostly just watched them converse while waiting for any information from the field agents. 

After about fifteen minutes, Ume looked up at the clock.

Standing, she tucked clipboard under her arm. “Tea anyone?” Asuma and Kurenai shook their head no, but Kakashi indicated that he would like some. “Be right back.” 

As she walked away, a soft chuckle came on over the ear bud. “Ibiki just called them baby-faced degenerates.”

Ume chuckled and pushed the push to talk button. “Score one, Ibiki.” Walking over to the teapot on the far side of the room, she held the teapot in such a way as to push the button while she poured. “How is everyone holding up?”

“Bear here. Nothing to report.”

“This is Horse. All is clear.”

“Bird reporting. All is fine. Nothing unusual.”

“Lion here. Bored as hell.”

Ume shook her head and pushed the button once more. “Focus Lion. Anyways, break time is over. Talk to you at the next check-in.”

“Roger.”

* * *

As soon as she was out of earshot, Asuma turned to Kakashi. “What is she hiding?”

Kakashi shrugged and leaned back. “She not allowed to tell me and I don’t ask.”

Asuma blew out at stream of smoke. “You mean to tell me that when she goes off on some mission, she doesn’t tell you what she’ll be doing?”

Kakashi shook his head. “No. The kind of missions she goes on are disclosed on a need to know basis. If I needed to know, I’d know. That the way it works.”

Asuma frowned. “I hate the not knowing and I don’t even know the full extent of it.”

“Full extent of what?” Ume passed one of the cups in her hand to Kakashi and sat down beside him.

Kakashi looked over at her and from this angle, she was sure he could see her ear bud. “Asuma was just commenting on the type of work you do.”

Ume made a face. “Let’s not start this again, _dad_. It’s what I’m good at and I like it.”

Asuma pulled his cigarette from his lips. “You are good at a lot of things, that doesn’t mean that you have to put your life in constant danger.”

Ume chuckled. “We’re ninja, that’s what we do. A safe ninja is a dead ninja.”

Asuma frowned and took a long drag on his cigarette. “You know damn well that ANBU missions are ten times more dangerous than even the normal elite Jounin’s mission. That is the point I am making.”

Kurenai’s eyes widened. “You’re ANBU?”

Ume glared at Asuma and ignored Kurenai. “Yeah, so what? That’s the point you’ve been making for the past ten years. Guess what? Still hasn’t changed my mind. Mostly likely won’t.”

Seeing that he wasn’t getting anywhere, Asuma turned to Kakashi. “Say something why don’t you?”

Kakashi looked confused. “Like what?”

“Like how you don’t want her-”

Ume waved her hands in front of her chest. “Whoa, whoa, what makes you think he can stop me, even if he wanted to?”

Asuma glared at her. “You two are in a relationship, I’m sure he has some sway over your decisions.”

Ume and Kakashi looked at each other briefly before Ume chuckled and Kakashi answered. “The word ‘relationship’ is relative, besides, she’s a big girl, she can make her own decisions.”

Asuma rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

Ume stuck her tongue out at him over the rim of her steaming teacup.

Asuma stuck his tongue out too. “You’re a child.”

Ume crossed her eyes at him. “You’re a bully.”

Kurenai rolled her eyes and smiled Kakashi. “Why do we put up with this?”

Kakashi sighed and shrugged. “They are siblings in every sense of the word. They were worse when they were younger.”

Kurenai just watched them with a slight smirk. “I’ll take your word for it.”

Eventually Asuma and Ume stopped bickering like children and the flow of the conversation returned to normal. Every fifteen minutes, Ume would get up to get tea or go to the bathroom in order to check-in with the team.

With fifteen minutes till the end of the first round, Ume came back to find the sensei discussing their students.

Asuma tapped the excess ash off of his cigarette. “I heard that their first examiner this year is Ibiki.” 

Kakashi, looking pensive, leaned back as Ume sat down next to him, putting his fresh cup of tea in between them. “Great... Sticking them with that sadist right off the bat.”

“Huh? What sadist?” Kurenai looked confused.

Ume chuckled. “I like Ibiki, I think he’s funny.”

Kakashi scoffed. “That’s because he leaves you alone. He likes you.”

Ume shook her head. “He leaves me alone because I’m too upfront, no deep hidden secrets. I’m an open book or something.”

Asuma laughed. “Dumb more like.” Ume stuck her tongue out at him.

Kurenai looked a little put-off that no one was listening. “What sadist?”

Asuma chuckled. “I forgot that you’re a new Jounin, Kurenai. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have to ask that.”

She shrugged. “So I’m ignorant. Who is he?”

Kakashi answered, “He’s what you might call a specialist.”

Kurenai’s eyes widened a little bit. “Oh yeah, in what?”

Ume laughed quietly as Asuma took a deep, dramatic hit on his cigarette. Taking it out of his mouth, he answered, “Interrogation.. Torture.” At Kurenai’s gasp, he continued. “Of course, he won’t be using physical torture during the test, he won’t need to. That’s not really his thing anyway. He works on people’s minds, not their bodies. He’s famous for it. Everyone knows about the head of the ANBU Torture and Interrogation Corps for the Hidden Leaf Village, Ibiki Morino.”

Kurenai looked disgusted and turned toward Ume. “And you like this guy? Sounds like a real freak show.”

“Like I said he’s funny.”

Asuma wasn’t finished. “You see, this guy, Ibiki, he’s a master of interrogation because he understands how the human mind works. He knows just where to probe to uncover your weaknesses. The thing is, he’s so good at his job, he doesn’t use physical torture, he doesn’t need to. He just messes up your head so bad, you torture yourself.”

“I still say he sounds psycho.”

Ume shrugged. “He’s on our side regardless.”

Asuma turned to Kurenai, topic forgotten and she sighed as Kakashi settled back against the booth beside her, thigh pressed against hers.

“You knew all about this, didn’t you?”

Ume shrugged, deliberately nonchalant. “No.”

Kakashi didn’t buy it. “You’re running the chuunin exams… or at least the security for the exams.”

She shifted away from him but his thigh chased hers. “Kashi-”

“I know you can’t say.” He sighed and it settled heavy in her chest. “I’m just glad you’re here. Asuma is heavy-handed and overbearing, but I do worry about you-”

“Don’t do this here, Kashi.” Ume was almost shocked by the sound of her own voice. Fragile. “I don’t need to know that someone else doubts me. Not today.”

“What has happened today?”

“Nothing.” The panic started clawing its way back up her throat. “But it will. Not today maybe, but it will. I can feel it.”

Kakashi stilled. “That’s why you brought Ibiki in.”

“I don’t have the authority-”

“You’re the Hokage’s daughter.”

“His _ward_, Kashi. I don’t have command over the T&I corps.”

“But you put forward the suggestion and the Hokage listened.”

She shrugged.

“You must be worried. You could have told me. I would help keep an eye out.”

“Don’t even know what we’d be keeping an eye out for, that’s half of Ibiki’s brief-”

“You knew he was going to be the first proctor?” Asuma leaned forward over his knees.

Kurenai mimicked him, red eyes fixed on Ume. “Do you know what they’re doing?”

Ume shook her head. “No idea, only that Ibiki was the proctor and that he requested the use of twenty Chuunin from the Torture and Interrogation Corps to be his proctor assistants.”

“Twenty?” Asuma shook his head. “I wonder what he is doing to them. Do you know who the next proctor is?”

Ume smiled. “Anko, easily one of my favorite people.”

Kurenai shook her head. “You do tend to collect the weirdos, don’t you?”

“Yep.” Ume gestured at their merry, little foursome. “Case in point.”

Kakashi chuckled lightly. “Ume likes everyone, Kurenai. I don’t think I’ve ever heard her naysay someone.”

“Except Ebisu and Seichi Hyuuga.”

“They’re assholes, they don’t count.”

“You are entirely too predisposed to like someone.” Asuma grinned. “No self-preservation.”

“It’s one of my best features, I’ve been told.”

“Someone lied to you.” 

Ume kicked Asuma in the knee.


	3. Days 9493 and 9494

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here you go guys!! I hope you really like it!

_ **Day 9493** _

Day was still hours from breaking when Ume showed up at the Forest of Death. She did a quick check of all the locks and then popped up on to the desk of the first guard station to wait for her two teams to show. Ten minutes later both ANBU teams, in full uniform, stood before her. 

Ume, who had been directed to forgo her own ANBU uniform, stood and leaned up against the desk, looking at the eight ANBU ninjas surrounding her, she smiled. “Ok, here we go. I don’t need to go over why we are here as we were all Genin at one time. But there are a couple of ground rules. First off, we will be patrolling the outside perimeter of the forest only. As this is a survival test and there hasn’t been any sign of trouble yet, the Hokage doesn’t see the need to break with the long-standing tradition of letting the kiddies play by themselves. In short we will be keeping the perimeter of the forest secure. No one goes in or out but proctors. 

“Second, there is a sensory ninja assigned to every unit to do a kiddie count. Again, the proctors will be primarily responsible for ensuring the ‘safety’ of the genins, not us. I just want them all accounted for, so we know where they are in case of a problem. I would like a report during check-in, but I’ll leave it to you to decide how often is best to check.

“Third, I don’t care how you break up the patrol but there needs to be one squad on the perimeter and one on standby at all times. Because of the duration of the exam, the stand-by unit may sleep as long as they are close by and there is some kind of sentry set up to listen for distress calls. Lastly, in the case that for some reason you do end up inside the Forest, do not make any contact with the Genin, they should never know that you were here. 

“Every every hour on the half-hour, the on-duty squad leader will lead a check in for the perimeter unit. If someone fails to check in, we assume they are dead and the stand-by unit is called in to find them. Do not miss a check-in, you will end up making someone very angry. I will check-in with you every hour on the hour, both squads. If you miss this check-in, I come and find you and I won’t pretend to be nice about it. Make sure that the proctor, Anko Mitarashi, knows you are here. I will be listening if you have anything to report.” Ume smiled again. “Any questions?” 

There was silence. 

“Excellent! Keep your guard and be very observant. This is the hardest section of the exam to watch. On top of that if we do have enemies in this batch of Chuunin candidates, what better time to do mischief then when you have a five day window with no one watching?” Ume waved them away. “Good luck, keep safe.” They left without a word.

She looked up into the forest briefly and then made as if to leave. As she passed on of the many trees surrounding the training ground she threw a set of senbon into the branches and stopped beneath the tree.

“Come out, Kakashi.”

Kakashi dropped out of the tree and passed her senbon back to her. “You’re more worried than I thought.” 

She shot him a stern look. “You are not supposed to be here. This area is off-limits to everyone except ANBU and proctors. You know that, Kakashi. If you had been anyone else I would have assumed that you were up to no good and I would have dropped you right there, allies be damned.”

He shrugged. “You know I’m not up to anything.”

“Lucky you.” She put away her senbon and moved away from the Forest of Death, walking back towards Konoha. He fell in step alongside her and she smiled up at him, before eyeing him with playful suspicion. “Why are you here anyways? Going for a walk?”

“Sure, if that’s the excuse you want me to use.” He shrugged and turned a stern eye down on her. “Your turn. I know you couldn’t talk about it in front of Asuma or Kurenai… but why does it seem like you’re mobilizing nearly all of ANBU?” 

“It’s clearly not all of ANBU, Kashi. Only eight squads.”

“From what I remember from my time in ANBU, that’s twice the normal number. And you’ve called in T&I. And a couple tokubetsu jonin with very specific skills. _And you._”

“What do I have to do with it?”

He sighed. “Ume, you’re not the most senior ANBU captain. There are captains with more experience, more-“

“And?”

“You’re not the most experienced, but you’re easily one of the best. I personally believe you are better at leading then I-“

She snorted. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth. I’m-“

“A natural-born leader. Someone who people instinctively follow without question.” She rolled her eyes and Kakashi huffed. “I’m serious, Ume. Not only are you a great leader but you have more than enough power to back yourself up. Why are _you_ leading such a large squadron of ANBU for what should be a relatively run-of-the-mill Chuunin exam?”

“It was never going to be run-of-the-mill with your team in it, Kashi. The younger generations don’t know, of course, but there are definitely people out there who are very interested in the Kyuubi and the last Uchiha.”

“You’ve received threats?”

“No… not at all. Radio silence.”

“Then why?”

She shrugged. “We don’t really know. The Hokage received some information regarding the Chuunin Exams, before you ask he didn’t share it with us and you know I couldn’t tell you if he did; however it was vague and not, strictly speaking, reliable. Therefore the Hokage decided to be prepared for anything that might come our way. So far nothing has happened but I have a bad feeling.”

Kakashi nodded. “I feel it too.”

She sighed heavily and treated him with a tired smile. She hadn’t been getting enough sleep recently, he knew- he slept next to her most nights. “How about breakfast and lots and lots of coffee. I haven’t eaten yet and this is going to be a long next five days.”

“Sure, lead the way.”

* * *

Kakashi sipped lightly at his coffee, watching Ume as she pushed her food around her plate. She was quiet, which by itself was odd and spoke of her preoccupation, and every so often she would look up at him, catch his eye and give a small smile and a shrug.

“What’s wrong?”

She looked up sharply as if not expecting him to speak to her. “Nothing’s wrong, per say. I’m just tired and I can’t shake the feeling that something is going to go wrong today.” She shrugged. 

“I feel it too.” He nodded. “But you’ll handle it just like you always do.”

“I don’t… I don’t know if that’s true. Something horrible is brewing and I’m not sure I can handle it.” She could tell he was frowning from the shape of his chin under his mask. “I don’t know if I’ll be _enough_. It feels bigger than-“

“What exactly are you feeling?”

“_Dread._” She went pale, eyes wide. “Like a dead man clawing up my spine. Like a shadow is lingering on the ground in front of me but I’m too afraid to turn and look and see who’s making it.”

“Poetic.”

“_I’m being serious, Kakashi._”

“I know you are, but I wish you wouldn’t. You’re no good at it.”

She glared at him. “I don’t know why I bother with you, asshole.”

“I don’t want you to sit and ruminate, Ume, that’s not who you are. You make decisions and you act and you move. I have never known you to hesitate.”

She grunted and then whisper-screamed. “Why does everyone keep saying that? I’m not hesitating. _I’m afraid_!”

Kakashi pulled back. “Ume-“

“_I’m fuckin’ terrified._ I can’t sleep, I don’t eat half of what I buy. I feel like I’m shaking apart.” She stuttered you a stop. “People are going to die, Kashi. I can feel it in my bones. People I love are going to die! I don’t know who or when or why, but I can feel it coming.”

“How long have you been feeling this?”

“Couple days after my birthday…” she shrugged. “I had a nightmare.”

“What happened?”

She shook her head.

“Ume.”

“Fuck you. I’m not talking about it.” She turned away from him. “Probably just tell me that I’m being ‘poetic’ again.”

“Ume…” he sighed and laid a hand on her arm. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to belittle you. I didn’t know-“

She shrugged him off and crossed her arms. “Whatever. I’ll just deal with it however I can… if I can.”

“You can. I promise.”

“You can’t promise anything, Kashi.” She shook her head. “All of this is resting on me and if I’m not up for the task then-“

“You are.”

“I don’t feel like I am.” She shrugged. “Asuma clearly doesn’t think I am.”

Kakashi laid his hand in her knee, under the stable and leaned into her. “You know how Asuma is, Ume. This has more to do with him than with you.”

“How so?”

“He's stubborn, doesn’t always allow for new information. He makes up his mind about something and that’s the way it is. He still sees tiny Miss Ume Nagasaki, who he accidentally knocked down and made cry on her first day at the academy. He sees his _little sister_ whom he adores and would do just about anything for.”

She shrugged. “Who’s to say I’m not that? Weak, fragile. Incapable.”

Kakashi sipped at his coffee. “On the other hand, I had that particular image shattered more than a decade ago. It’s hard to imagine you as a bawling child when I have seen you break through enemy ranks like they were wet paper.” He looked up, caught her eye and held it. “You may not be most aggressive ninja under normal circumstances, but there’s definitely a reason why the Hokage put in you in charge of this mission and it isn’t because he doesn’t think you can do the job.”

“I’m not like you, Kashi. I don’t have a respected family name, or family jutsus or special abilities.”

“That has never mattered when it came to you.” He leaned even closer. “You are an _exceptional ninja_, Ume. You are literally one of the best Konoha has. You are strong, fast, and capable. A hard-worker who remembers what it means to be weak. A true leader who never asks of her men what she is not willing to give herself. Even if you don’t carry the Sarutobi name, you are Sarutobi in every vein and cell. And, what’s more, you make them proud. You make me proud.”

She sucked in a breath, feeling the weight of that in her chest. “Kashi-“

“Eternal Rival!” A large hand landed on her shoulder and she jumped. “How are you this Glorious and Auspicious Morning?”

Over her ear piece, she could hear the first perimeter check of the day. She grew quiet and waited until she heard all four members of the perimeter squad check in. 

Breathing a sigh of relief, she glanced at him and whispered, knowing that he likely couldn’t hear her over Guy. “Thanks, Kashi.”

He squeezed her knee.

* * *

** _Day 9494_ **

It had been a mostly uneventful day, the first day of the second phase of the exams passing quietly with little to report. Once or twice, members of the perimeter squad had confessed to feeling antsy, anxious, feeling as if something bad was going to happen at any moment, but aside from intuition and instinct there was nothing spectacular. going on

By lunch time, she had cleaned her apartment, done laundry and was well on the way towards bored. She was just taking the last few articles of clothing off of the line when there was a knock on her door. Folding the last shirt she placed it on top of her stack and walked to the door.

Looking through the peep-hole, she smiled. Opening the door, she smiled and invited Asuma and Kakashi in. “How can I help you lovely gents?”

Asuma snuffed out his cigarette before entering the apartment. “Smells clean in here.”

Ume shrugged. “Unfortunately it’s gonna smell a lot like cigarettes now. Gee thanks.”

Asuma smirked down at her. “I do my best.”

Ume smiled. “Tea?”

Kakashi shook his head. “We’re here to collect you for lunch. We’re all a little bored without the brats running around. You up for it?”

Ume nodded. “Sure. Where are we going?”

* * *

Asuma was grilling up the last plate of short ribs when Ume, who had long since eaten her fill, remembered something. “How often do you come here, Asuma?”

He shrugged, flipping the meat with practiced ease. “Three or four times a week. It is my preferred method of coercion. If I can get Choji motivated, Shikamaru interested and Ino focused, I can normally get things done.”

Ume nodded. “Makes sense. Kakashi I assume you use goading to get the Uchiha and Uzumaki going?”

Kakashi nodded. “More or less. I don’t normally have to do much, they pretty much motivate themselves. Why?”

Ume shrugged. “I was just thinking about how different everyone’s teaching styles were and what I’d do if I were to ever become a Jounin sensei.”

Kurenai sipped at her drink. “What would you do?”

With a bright smile, Ume proclaimed: “I would treat my students the same way my Jounin sensei treated me and my team.”

Kakashi chuckled. “Your Jounin sensei was out of his mind.”

Ume frowned and Asuma laughed. “Then it should suit you just fine, squirt.”

Sticking her tongue out at Asuma, she emphatically defended her teacher. “Saitou-sensei was awesome, eccentric maybe, but awesome.”

Kakashi shook his head. “He was senile and far too old to still be teaching kids.”

“He was old but… I don’t know. He was the only adult I could trust for a long time.” Ume shrugged. “I miss him.”

“A drink for Saitou,” Asuma threw back a shot and reached over to pat her on the shoulder. “He was a good man.”

They all followed suit and Ume smiled. 

Kurenai smiled. “What did he do?”

“Hmm?”

“How did he teach you? You said you wanted to be like him if you ever had a genin team.”

Kakashi made as if to speak and Ume cut him off. “He taught us to always be prepared and-”

Kakashi jumped in. “He liked to jump out of hiding spots at random times during the day, screaming like a poltergeist and throwing weapons at his students.”

Kurenai made a face. “What?”

Ume crossed her arms over her Jounin vest. “Saitou-sensei was teaching us to be aware of our surroundings and he’d only throw stuff at you if you didn’t notice him before he came out of hiding.”

Asuma popped a piece of meat into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. Swallowing, he added: “Didn’t you like break a foot once?”

Ume nodded hesitantly. “Yes, about a week after I became a Genin, Saitou-sensei jumped out of a tree in the forest and scared me half out of my mind. I jumped ten feet in the air and ended up toppling head over heels down a hill.” She rubbed the back of her head and smiled sheepishly. “It didn’t take long to heal though, I was out of the hospital and ready to go in like thirty minutes. To tell you the truth, the healing jutsu was more uncomfortable than the broken foot and I never dropped my guard in that forest ever again.”

From there the other members of the lunch party began to tell stories about their Jounin sensei. It was nearly dinner time when Boar, the captain of the standby ANBU team, called her over her earbud. “Weasel-taichou, we have a problem. The three Grass Genin have been found dead, their faces ripped off. Anko thinks it’s Him.”

Ume stood and threw some money on the table. “Take care of this for me, Kakashi? I have to go now.” She quickly formed the hand signs for the Body Flicker Jutsu and left. Within the space of ten minutes she had answered the call, gotten home, changed into her ANBU uniform and made it to the Forest of Death.

Kneeling over the corpse closest to her, she swore. “Where did Anko go?”

Boar took a step closer to her and dropped into a crouch. “She’s already in the forest along with the perimeter crew trying to track him down. Do you think it’s really him?”

Ume stood. “I don’t really know a whole lot about Orochimaru, but Anko thinks it’s him and I don’t know of a more qualified person to recognize his handiwork.”

Boar nodded. “Orders, Captain?”

Ume pointed to the corpses. “Two of you take these guys back to ANBU headquarters and bring back Bird and Ox and their teams. We three are going to watch the perimeter until you guys get back. Hurry.”

* * *

By the time night had completely fallen, they had searched every inch of that forest multiple times over. She was jumpy, agitated and exhausted when she finally set up the guard and started toward the tower. There were three full squads of ANBU shinobi in the forest this time and one watching the Hokage. If Orochimaru so much as pissed the wrong way tonight, they should be able to find him.

Whether they could stay alive when they found him was less certain. 

She dropped into one of the balconies of the tower and entered the Hokage’s room, making enough noise to alert the ninja in the room of her presence. She walked over to where the Hokage sat smoking his pipe and bowed to him. “I am so sorry, Lord Hokage, I should-”

“Mask off, little flower.”

“I’m still on duty, Lord-”

“In here, I don’t want to speak to Weasel. I want to speak to my daughter.”

She hesitated, glancing at the masked ANBU in the room. 

“Cat and Hound, you can step out.”

Ume shook her head. “Stay at your post. Lord-“

“My daughter can guard me adequately. Step out.”

The ninjas followed orders and left. 

She sighed heavily and pulled off her mask, setting it on a table near the balcony door. She rubbed her hands over her face and sighed.

“I just want to protect you.”

Sandaime nodded. “I know, flower, but I am fine and you are not.”

“There is nothing wrong with me, Old Man, and Orochimaru is almost certainly not coming after me.”

“That’s not what I mean, Ume.”

She paused and then cursed vilely. “Kakashi told you.”

He demurred. “He is worried.”

She made a derisive sound, turning away, hands on her hips. 

“He is _rightfully_ worried and given the developments of the last few hours, I am too.”

“I did everything I could.”

“I know you did. I’m not concerned about what you did, but what you could do, going forward.”

She huffed. “What does that _mean_?”

“There is nothing you could have done to stop this from happening, Ume. There were no signs or warnings that he was planning anything like this.” He beckoned her closer and reached for her hand to draw her to the couch next to him. “You responded quickly and admirably, that is all I can ask from you.”

“Okay-“

“But I worry that you will take on guilt that is not yours to bear, that you will work yourself into exhaustion to try and control the uncontrollable.” 

“What else can I do?” She dropped her head into her hands. “I have this awful feeling that something will go horribly wrong, that I’m going to lose someone I love and I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m playing shoji with a quarter of the pieces.”

“You do your best and you realize that your best may not be enough. There are only a few things in life we can control and fate is not one of them.”

“But people are going to die, Old Man. I’m supposed to stand here and do nothing? Just twiddle my thumbs and wait for the inevitable?”

He shook his head firmly. “Again you do your best. You lead your men to the best of your ability and you gather as much information as you can. You _fight_ and you show our enemies that you’re going to take your due out of them before they get theirs. You show them that the storm isn’t coming, _you are the storm_. And the storm doesn’t fear a rain cloud.”

“This is _Orochimaru-_“

“His quest for power has led him here and I feel that it won’t end well for him. Regardless, we will not stoop to his level.”

“Stoop? He’s a fuckin’ sage, Old Man!”

“One, you’re going to stop cussing or I will tell your mother. Two, and who am I? It has not been long since they called me the God of Shinobi.”

She shook her head and turned towards the window. ”Has Anko turned up?”

“We’ll continue this conversation later, little flower. Don’t think I’m done.” The Hokage sighed. “She is in the other room. Ape and Toad brought her in an hour ago. The curse mark is causing her a great deal of pain right now, she is resting.” He smiled wryly up at her. “I don’t know what it is, but it seems that there is an epidemic of guilt running havoc among my best kunoichi.”

Ume blushed. “Thank you.”

“Maybe you should get some rest as well, while you can.”

Ume shook her head. “I have to be awake for the check-ins. With that monster out there, I have to make sure my men are safe.”

The Hokage nodded. “A wise leader knows that in order to keep her men safe, she must be at her best and as I recall you always are very grumpy when you don’t get enough sleep.”

Ume nodded. “Point made, Old Man. Let’s just get through this first night without any more casualties and I’ll try to set up a sleeping rotation in the morning, so everyone can get some sleep. We might turn this place into a mini ANBU compound before this exam is done.”

* * *

“_Fuck._ Why can’t we find him?” Ume hit the table she was leaning over. “We have the best tracker nins in the world, the best sensory ninja, _we almost had him_. Why can’t we find him?”

Bull lifted his masked face from the table, voice thick with exhaustion. “It’s like he disappeared. He has to have help.”

She nodded and started pacing. “He has to.”

Hound gasped. “We have a mole in the Leaf.”

Ape shook his head. “We would’ve heard, you can’t keep this quiet and plan something like this. That’s impossible. Also if you had an inside man this impenetrable, why wait until the Chuunin Exams? Why wait until the village is on high alert, when we have an ANBU squadron of thirty-eight people on standby. That doesn’t make sense.”

“And the intel, vague thought it was, came from the outside.” She cursed under her breath. “One of the foreign teams.”

“They all checked out. Nothing suspicious at all.”

“Nothing at all?” Ume paused. “What about the Sound?”

Ape nodded. “The Sound is suspicious as fuck. And those weapons.”

“We need to be watching them.”

Hound stood. “I’ll get someone on them.”

Ume nodded. “He’s gotta know that we’d be suspicious of them.”

“Yeah, he’d be an idiot to try to hide out with them.” Toad leaned back in his chair. “What does he even want though? Why attack during Chuunin exams? What will that accomplish?”

Ume dragged her hand down over her face. “Hell if I know. He hadn’t gone after the Hokage and aside from the Grass genins, he hasn’t killed anyone to our knowledge. As far as we know, he’s still in the Forest of Death.”

“Why? There’s nothing but genins in the Forest.”

“He must be interested in one of the genins.”

There was an eerie silence. Toad shifted loudly. “The Kyuubi is taking the exam this time.”

No one responded.

“And the last Uchiha.”

The kunai hit the wood of her window frame with a loud thunk, loud enough that Kakashi, curled up in her bed could hear it clearly. 

She watched from the ledge of the apartment building across the street as he stood, slid the window open, and pried the kunai out of the wood.

Tied to the handle was a scrap of paper. He looked up, searching the trajectory of the kunai for her.

She watched as he found her, staring hard at her as if willing her to come in, and then looked down at the paper.

_Orochimaru_

_Protect Sasuke._


	4. Day 9497

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I was out of town for most of last week and then super busy for most of this week. 
> 
> When I first wrote this story, I wasn't very good at building up tension and I like to think that I've gotten better. However, I also realize that it seems a little melodramatic, but Ume's rather extreme reaction makes sense in light of her childhood trauma and the extreme stress she puts herself under as an occupational hazard. That combined with this vague premonition (as she perceives it), would be enough to send her mind right into survival mode.
> 
> Anywhoo.... If you agree, leave me a note. If you disagree, I can take it... leave me a note. Comments make the world go round.
> 
> Buchou: Japanese honorific and title roughly meaning commander.

** _ Day 9497 _ **

Ume swiped a hand down over her face, her eyes clouded and framed by dark circles, and sighed, leaning up against the desk behind her. Assembled around her were the ten ANBU teams that had been assigned to watch over the rest of the exam period. Looking up at the clock, she mused to herself, _4:00 AM, time to get started._

“It has been officially confirmed. Orochimaru is somewhere in or around Kohona.” There was a slight murmur among the ninja. While most of the ninja here had known that, some had been yanked from their beds in order to fill the roster without any explanation of why. “His main goal, according to what he told Anko, is _not_ to destroy our village... yet. Instead he wishes to abduct Sasuke Uchiha or have him defect to the Sound Village. Neither of these are acceptable end results. Our main goal is the safety of Sasuke Uchiha and the Hokage. On top of that we are also to help ensure the safety of every foreign ninja in Kohona should something happen.”

“There are some facts that you need to be made aware of: Orochimaru has threatened to destroy the village if we try to cancel the Chuunin Exams. So the Chuunin Exams will not be cancelled and will proceed as planned. Also, the Uchiha has been given a curse mark. He is a veritable massacre waiting to happen should that mark get out of hand. In most cases, the Jounin-sensei and the proctors will take care of it, but should they fail, we will step in.” 

She stood fully and paced towards the ranks. “This day marks the first time in five years we have had to hold a preliminary third exam. The same rules apply that have applied for the other two portions of the exam. No contact with the genin, unless signaled to do so by the Hokage and stay out of sight and sense. There will be a month in between this prelim and the actual start of the third exam. We will be doing background checks and security details, on both the village and the Uchiha, for the entirety of this month.”

She yawned. “I know that those of you who have been active duty for the last couple of weeks are as tired as I am. Because we have an awesome Hokage who cares for us deeply, we have a duty schedule that will allow everyone time to sleep and rest. You will be split into two shifts, A and B for simplicity’s sake. Each shift will be on two days and off two days. When on duty the separate teams within each shift will spilt duties among themselves, these duties will include, patrols, guard details, information gathering, and searching for Orochimaru and his allies and followers.”

She waved a red-headed man in. “Aikihiko Harada and myself will be leading these shifts, working two days on and two days off as well. We will be leading check-ins, making sure you have everything you need, acting as information hubs and personally guarding the Hokage.”

“Everything sound good?” She yawned again. “The first shift will be Snake, Bull, Ox, Fish, and Tiger lead by me and the second will be Bird, Boar, Cat, Raccoon and Fox lead by Aikihiko. Second shift go get some sleep, see you at 4:00 AM, two days from now. First shift, you have your assignments, check in with your unit captain as soon as you get in place then unit captains will check-in with me. After that, check-ins on your unit frequency every thirty minutes and then on my frequency every hour. Report anything you see, even if it doesn’t seem important. I will be with Hokage.” She stood fully and looked at each one individually. “Stay safe.”

Aikihiko approached quietly after the teams began filtering out of the room. “Buchou.”

She rubbed her hand over her face. “You have seniority, Aikihiko. You don’t need to call me Buchou… no one needs to call me Buchou.”

He chuckled. “I’m going to anyways, though… Buchou.”

She glared at him. “What do you want, Harada?”

“I merely want to see if you want to switch?”

“Switch?”

“Shifts.” He shrugged. “I know you put the teams together to balance well with leadership and to balance well internally as well, but surely if we were so inclined, we could switch teams and-”

“Did you talk to the Hokage?”

“Your fath-”

“That’s a yes.” She huffed. 

“He’s concerned, Buchou. You haven’t slept more than an hour in a stretch since Orochimaru made himself known. You haven’t eaten much and food pills don’t count.” He sighed. “We need you to be at your best and you aren’t if you don’t take care of yourself.”

“Are you calling me impaired?”

He sighed. “No, Buchou.”

“Then this conversation is over.” She pushed off the desk. “The Hokage is not going to sit in on that prelim without me right next to him.”

“Buchou-”

She strode from the meeting room.

* * *

Ume shouldn’t be here.

She was ANBU. ‘In the Shadows’ was practically written into her job description.

Not that a job description existed, because_ it was so damn secret._

The fact the she stood next to the Hokage, in plain sight, to begin with, was surprising, making the fact that she wasn’t in her ANBU uniform more so. 

However that wasn’t what was worrying him. 

Five days ago, she had been her normal self. She had looked strong, healthy. Distressed, worried and agitated, but healthy nonetheless.

The woman standing by the Hokage, was almost totally unrecognizable.

This woman was tense, perhaps more tense than she had ever been in his recent memory. She had her arms crossed over her chest, her fists clenched and unclenched in staccato rhythm causing the fabric of her sleeve to rub incessantly against her flack vest. Her skin was unnaturally pale set against the deep shadows under her dull blue eyes and Kakashi had the distinct impression that she hadn’t been eating properly.

Catching Gai’s worried eyes, Kakashi shrugged and glanced at the clock. Noticing that there were still a few minutes left before the Genin entered the prelim arena, he strode towards her.

She turned her shoulders to him, blue eyes cold on his face as she determined that he was in fact Kakashi and not an enemy under a jutsu.

“Kakashi.”

“Ume,” he mimicked. He stepped up close and whispered as lowly as he could. “When was the last time you slept?”

“I don’t think that is important, considering.”

“Considering what?” 

He was toeing a fine line, he knew. She couldn’t say what even if everyone in the room knew. 

She also couldn’t react the way she probably would normally, with an amused insult and a flipped bird. Not with all the foreign ninja in the room. 

No one outside of Konoha may know that she had been adopted in all but the paperwork, but dissenters who still naysayed the Hokage’s decision to personally train a civilian-born nobody from a dirt poor family of drunk and useless nothings would hear about it.

Just like they would hear that the Son of the White Fang was acting like more than just a comrade.

The gossips were going to have a field day.

“Don’t start, Kakashi.”

_Kakashi… not Kashi. _

He took the steps up to the dias in one long step. “Don’t test me, Ume. When was the last time you slept?”

She shrugged, her eyes forward, focused on the shadows of the arena. “I slept this morning.”

He didn’t buy it in the least. “For how long?”

“Thirty minutes.”

Mentally cursing her stupidity, he prodded her again. “And when was the last time you had an actual meal?”

She glanced at him. “Five days ago when we went to lunch.”

He gritted his teeth beneath the mask, of course the damn woman wouldn’t take care of herself. “And since then, what have you eaten?”

“Water and dried fruit mostly.”

“And?”

“And?” She mimicked. “Don’t know what you’re getting at.”

“Ume.”

“Use your words, Kakashi.”

He grit his teeth, wanting to throttle for the first time since they were very small. “_Ume._ There is no way you’ve sustained near constant activity on water and dried fruit. I’m not an idiot.”

She huffed. “Food pills. _Fuck._ Are you satisfied?”

“No. I’d be satisfied if you acted like an adult and took care of yourself.” He glared down at her. “You need to eat a protein bar when the prelims start.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll get right on that.” 

Growling under his breath, he pulled a protein bar from his pack and handed it to her. “Scratch that, eat it now.”

She rolled her eyes. “Really Kaka-”

“Now.”

Turning to face him, she searched his visible eye and, huffing, snatched the ration bar from his hand. “I hate these stupid things.” 

She moved to leave the room, but Kakashi caught her elbow. “I want to see you eat it.”

She was about to kick up a fuss, when Asuma and Gai joined them on the dias. Looking up she caught Gai and Asuma’s identical glowers. 

Asuma, smirked around his unlit cigarette. “Eat the ration bar, Brat.”

She cursed and then blushed, catching the Hokage’s disapproving stare. Opening the protein bar, she ate it quickly, glaring at Kakashi the entire time.

Hearing the Hokage’s laughter, she blushed again. “Don’t blame him, Ume. If you had been taking care of yourself like I told you to, Kakashi wouldn’t have to force feed you. You’ll be even more trouble when I tell them that you could be at home in bed right now, off for two days, but you chose to start this mission with two days on.”

“Lord-”

_“You what?”_

Ume stiffened and peeked at Asuma. “I’m not going to let him be here without me… Asuma, Orochimaru could be here _right now_.”

“And you’re better prepared to face him, right? On half-an-hour of sleep and no real food.” Asuma cussed. “Why do you insist on going it alone? You have never been a lone wolf, Ume. Why now? _Do you think that we're so useless that you can't trust-_”

“_Of course not._” She stared him down. “I-I…”

“This is because of your dream right?” 

“What dream?” Gai looked confused but Asuma was too busy glaring at Ume. 

She looked down and nodded. 

“You fool.” Pulling out another couple protein bars, Kakashi opened her weapons pack, deposited the protein bars and closed it again. “Eat those during the prelims, no arguments.” 

The doors opened and the jounin-sensei took their places as they ought. Kakashi was seriously tempted to reveal the Sharingan so he could keep an eye on Ume.

* * *

Ume made to follow the Hokage into his box as the prelim started, only to have him stop her. “Go with Kakashi. When this fight is over and that curse mark is sealed, I want you watching the Uchiha’s every move.”

“Lord Hok-“

“_Daughter_, go with Kakashi. I’ll be fine.”

“Yes sir.” Ume nodded stiffly and jumped to the balcony, landing in between Gai and Kakashi’s students. She shrugged at Gai, watching Kakashi ascend the stairs.

“Who are you?”

She stiffened and looked down at the blond boy, who sat peering up at her face. She made to answer and was cut off as Kakashi moved behind her. “A friend, Naruto.” He glanced down at her. “A friend who should be eating.”

She ignored him and then turned back to the kid. “Ume Nagasaki.” She held out her hand, smirking. Leaning over she crooked her finger at the suspicious blond boy. “I can tell you things about your sensei that might actually make him blush.”

Naruto grinned. “Really? Like what?”

Kakashi coughed into his fist. “Ume. Eat.”

She glared at him lightly, before pulling a protein bar from her pack and nibbling on it absently, her eyes now focused on the dark-haired boy in the ring. Turning her head over her shoulder she glanced at Kakashi. “You team has done impressively well, Kashi.” She snuck a glance at Naruto’s now mullish expression. 

He crossed his arms over his chest. “What did you expect? With me on the team, we are destined for greatness.”

She smiled and vaguely considered ruffling the kids hair. “My mistake.”

Kakashi prodded her side. “Look.”

Focusing back in on the fight, she bit her tongue to keep from cursing in front of the kids. “How did a Genin get that kind of power?”

Kakashi shrugged and watched as Sasuke’s opponent turned his glowing, chakra-stealing hand on the boy.

Ume clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, she leaned over to whisper to Kakashi, “Call me paranoid, but if Orochimaru is watching, he was hoping to see that curse mark in this fight and Yoroi seems perfectly equipped to give it to him.”

Kakashi nodded. “Let’s hope that’s not what this is.”

“Fat lot of good hope will do us.”

“Ume.”

Ume shrugged and nibbled at the protein bar. Stepping back so she stood right next to Kakashi. “It wouldn’t be the first or the last traitor the Leaf Village has seen. I’m not convinced all three are in on it. But this kid’s abilities and Yakushi’s sudden drop-out leave a bad taste in my mouth. Though that could be the protein bar.”

“Glad to see your sense of humor is back.”

“I aim to please.”

“Then finish the protein bar.”

“Tyrant. There aren’t many ninja who go so far as to drop out of a refereed fight seven times.”

Kakashi nodded. “Do you guys have eyes on Yakushi?”

Ume shook her head. “We did, but we lost him.”

Kakashi sighed deeply through his nose. “Not many genin can shake an ANBU tail.”

“Not many ninja can shake Ox off of their trail. Hell I don’t even know if I could shake Ox off of my trail as easily as that genin did.” 

Nodding, visible eye wide but still trained on the boy dodging glowing fists, Kakashi mused aloud. “This seems to be much bigger than we have been anticipating.”

“Yep.” She finished off the last of the protein bar and shoved the wrapper in her pocket. Whispering even lower than she had been, she took out another protein bar, being purposely loud. “Where are you taking him when the fight is over?”

“Storage room six.”

“I’ll be coming with you to provide back-up. Lord Hokage wants ANBU eyes on Uchiha until at least ‘til the end of the Exams.” She munched noisily covering the sound of the conversation.

“I’m going to need-”

“Hey Sasuke! Come on man, what was that? And you call yourself an Uchiha?” Ume stared at Naruto and Kakashi groaned lightly. “You’re gonna let this goon walk all over you. Come on, stop messing around and get it in gear!”

Ume chortled. “I’m not sure that Uchiha is used to being spoken to that way.”

Kakashi shook his head, rubbing a hand over his face. “This is normal.”

"Are you sure you really trained him> You been trading Genin with Gai?”

Kakashi didn’t reply as all of the Leaf Jounin in the room held their breath as the curse mark spread. Ume cursed and made to call in the troops.

Kakashi stopped her. “I will take care of it.”

Eyes still on the Uchiha, she nodded. “I know, but we don’t know how he is going to react to that curse mark. You may need help.”

He nodded abcently. “Just wait.” There was a pregnant pause and the curse mark started to recede. 

A few seconds later, Ume let out a low whistle and Sasuke slammed his opponent into the ground, completing the ‘Lion’s Barrage.’ “Impressive. That’s the match.”

Forming a series of hand signs, he nodded to Ume. “See you there.”

Ume nodded and watched as Kakashi reappeared in the ring, holding that book.

“You Ok?” Ume turned, smiling at Naruto. “Hey Sasuke! You won, but in such an uncool way. You came out looking like you were the one that got beat up.”

Ume shook her head and watched as Kakashi argued briefly with the boy before dragging him from the room.

That’s her cue.

* * *

“Who is she?”

Ume glared back at the boy glaring at her and turned to Kakashi. “The area is clear. The guard team is on stand-by. They are going to meet us in the infirmary, unless we have a problem.” Then turning to Uchiha, she smiled. “Now all you have to do is keep from fainting, kid.” 

Sasuke turned over his shoulder, watching as Kakashi traced another circle into the floor around him. “Who is she? And what problem do you think we’re going to have?”

Kakashi sighed. “_She_ is Ume Nagasaki, a Konoha Jounin, who deserves your respect,” Kakashi paused and shot him a stern look, “And she is going to help me keep you safe. As for problems: do you really think that Orochimaru would bother putting a curse mark on someone he didn’t plan to use?”

“No but he’s not here, is he?”

Ume shrugged, keeping her eyes on the entrance. “Who knows? That’s why I’m here.” She passed Sasuke so she was between Kakashi and the door.

A couple of minutes later, Kakashi stood. “Okay. It’ll be over quickly.”

Ume chuckled. “That’s a bad sign...” She winked at him over her shoulder. “That means it hurts a lot.”

Kakashi ignored her. “You ready?”

Sasuke glared at her around Kakashi’s legs then nodded at Kakashi. Kakashi formed the hand-signs and performed the jutsu to the tune of a boy’s screams. When he was finished, he cautioned, “There, now next time that curse mark starts acting up, the seal should keep it in check. But remember: this curse sealing jutsu is only as strong as you are. It derives its strength from the strength of your will. If that will ever weakens, if you ever begin to doubt yourself, the curse will be unleashed in all its fury.” Sasuke fainted and Ume walked over to stand next to Kakashi, who chuckled. “Amazing. Too tired to even argue.”

Ume nodded and stepped toward Sasuke.. “I’m going to take-” 

“My, how you’ve grown.” Both ninja stilled. “To think you’ve become strong enough to perform the curse sealing jutsu.”

“You.” Kakashi turned slowly to face Ororchimaru as Ume collected the unconscious boy and retreated ten feet. Placing the boy on the ground behind her, she turned and faced Orochimaru.

“Long time no see, Kakashi.” Orochimaru took a couple threatening steps closer towards them.

Ume cursed and performed a quick set of hand-signs. “Earth Style: Earth Corridor.” She slammed her hands into the ground, causing a dome of rock to form around Sasuke. Pulling out a kunai, she almost frantically called the guard team over her radio.

Orochimaru tutted, but ultimately ignored her. “No offense, Kakashi but I didn’t come to see you. My business is with that boy. The one that girl is trying to shield with that flimsy jutsu.”

Ume gritted her teeth but stayed quiet, best let Kakashi take care of this.

“What do you want with Sasuke?”

Orochimaru chuckled. “You’ve acquired something new, how I envy your good fortune.” Kakashi visibly tensed. “I don’t think you had it the last time we met. The gift... the Sharingan in your left eye. It’s only fair that I should want it, too. The Uchiha power.”

Kakashi forced himself to calm down. “What’s your game?”

Orochimaru seemed delighted that he asked. “This Sound Village that everyone is curious about... It’s mine, you see. I created it.” There was a tense pause. “I think you understand without me saying anymore.”

Chuckling mirthlessly, Kakashi replied. “You and your wild-eyed ambition.”

“Oh, yes indeed... As always. But to play the game, as you put it, I need pieces on the chessboard, willing pawns to do my bidding.”

Kakashi tensed again, his voice deep with agitation. “And Sasuke is one of your pawns.”

“Oh not at all, he’s a much more valuable piece than that.“ He paused, still cool and composed. “But as for the others... well you know how it is in the game of chest, pieces must be sacrificed.”

Ume gritted her teeth, whispering. “Sick fuck.”

Orochimaru turned towards her. “You think so? I take it you’re ANBU, you certainly move like you are. Maybe you’re even a captain. You would never sacrifice a man to accomplish your goals?”

“Hell no.”

Kakashi glanced at her over his shoulder. “Ume, stop.”

Orochimaru grinned. “Ume? Ume Nagasaki?”

Ume tensed and took a step back towards the earth dome. 

His grin widened. “Oh yes I know you. Sarutobi-sensei was quite excited about the little nine-year-old blond who became a chuunin on her first try. I remember him saying that you had an overwhelming proficiency for Earth Release jutsu. I believe he taught you a good deal before I left Kohona. Maybe that Earth Corridor isn’t as flimsy as I originally thought.”

Ume went pale, her knuckles nearly white around the kunai and Orochimaru took a couple steps closer to the pair.

Kakashi tensed and dropped into stance for Chidori, powering up as he growled, “Don’t come any closer. I don’t care if you are one of the Sannin, the three Shinobi of legend, I swear, take one more step towards Sasuke and one of us will die here.”

Orochimaru laughed and Kakashi growled again. “Funny, is it?”

Grinning that sick maniacal grin, Orochimaru mused aloud, “Poor Kakashi, all of your noble efforts, all in vain...”

“What?”

“Do you really believe that the seal will hold? Do you think that you can keep him from what he truly desires? You know I’m right... a heart like his, that hungers for one thing, will not be denied. No matter what obstacles you put in his path, he is an avenger, isn’t he?”

Energy crackling around his arm, Kakashi questioned him right back. “Do you think you can take advantage of that? Not Sasuke.”

Orochimaru shrugged it off. “You cannot stop it. At some point he will come to me.. in search of power.” Ororchimaru turned toward the exit and walked away and Kakashi let the Chidori dissipate. As he walked through the doorway, Ororchimaru let one last warning echo through the room, “Unless of course, you carry out your threat to kill me. Take it, if you dare.”

Ume sagged against the earth dome and sighed watching as Kakashi visibly shook. “You idiot. You coulda been killed.”

Sighing, Kakashi turned and walked toward her. “Yeah, speaking of ‘coulda been killed,’ insulting him wasn’t a really intelligent thing to do either, was it?” 

Ume shrugged and pushed off the dome, performing the hand signs to release the jutsu. “We both would’ve been killed if he had decided to fight.” Ume rubbed a hand over her face. “So much for calling in the troops, they still aren’t here.”

Ume moved towards Sasuke, only to feel Kakashi’s hand on the back of her neck, pulling her into him. She shook her head lightly and fisted a hand in his flack vest as Kakashi pressed his cheek into her hair.

After a few moments of silence, she smiled. “Let’s get this kid to the infirmary.” 

Kakashi nodded and let her go. As Ume stooped to pick up Sasuke, the six ANBU she had called showed up and took the boy from her hands. 

Ume clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “Better late than never I guess.” She turned to smile at Kakashi. “You go ahead back to the arena, I’ll get this kid settled in and then I’ll come back.”


	5. Day 9499

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I’ve had so much to do and no time to do it in!!! This chapter got heavy really fast m. I hope you enjoy it! Leave me a note or a kudo if you did.

****

_**Day 9499 **_

About a half a mile north of the primary ANBU compound, there lay an ever-expanding tract of land, dotted by precisely spaced rows of small stone cubes. Each stone cube is marked only by the animal codename of the ninja whose ashes are interred within the cube, no dates, no real names. These graves are kept clean and polished, a job often left to the hot-headed, reckless ANBU, (she had polished these graves more often than she cared to remember,) but there are never any flowers, no notes left for the deceased or incense burned for the souls of the dead. 

Because even if a spouse knew the codename and could find the graveyard, which of the ten or fifteen ‘Boar’s or ‘Rabbit’s do you burn incense for?

You see when an ANBU is killed in action, there are three things that happen: their next-of-kin is notified _privately_ of their death, they are cremated and buried on ANBU property, and a new ANBU receives their mask.

With the exception of the Hokage and other ANBU members, who are forbidden to speak of it to anyone outside of ANBU, no one will ever know how an ANBU died. It’s as if they simply disappear into thin air. One minute so-and-so is there the next minute they aren’t. Complete anonymity.

In fact if she hadn’t known in what section of the graveyard they were buried, she wouldn’t have been able to find the four ANBU killed by Kabuto Yakushi.

She sat down, pulled her knees to her chest and laid her masked forehead against her knees.

How could one Genin take out four of Kohona’s finest and then get one over on Kakashi? It didn’t make sense.

She fisted her hands against her legs and gritted her teeth. The next time she saw Yakushi would be the last time _anyone _saw that little chickenshit bastard.

“You shouldn’t be here.” Kakashi sat down a couple feet from her.

She didn’t look at him and they didn’t touch each other.

“I think out of the two of us, you shouldn’t be here more than I shouldn’t be here.”

Kakashi chuckled briefly before sobering. “I assembled that team. Their deaths are on my conscience, you don’t need to try and take the blame too.”

She lifted her head and set her chin on her knees. “ANBU can’t contain this...” She chuckled humorlessly. “Hell, I’m still having nightmares about Orochimaru. How can I keep my teams alive when I can’t even stop the tremor in my hands?”

Kakashi nodded. “They are all experienced ninja, Weasel. They only need you to watch their backs.”

Ume scoffed and stood. “I need a shower and clean clothes. I’ve been under this mask for a day and a half.”

Kakashi stood as well, tracking her slow, stiff movements. He watched her as she said a quick prayer, hating the hollow emotionless ANBU voice she used and the mask that hid her emotions from him. When she lifted her head again, he moved closer to her. “When did you get off duty?”

Rubbing a hand over her sunburned neck, she rotated her sunburned shoulders and walked away from the graves, Kakashi matching her stride for stride. “4 AM.”

Kakashi looked up at the sun, it was just now dawn, around 7AM. “You’ve been out here since four?”

Ume shook her head. “You know I haven’t been. You tailed me from the Hokage’s office.”

He shook his head and chuckled softly. “I wondered if you had noticed me.”

Ume looked up at him and he was sure that there was an arched brow under that mask. “You were making enough noise. I don’t believe for a second that you didn’t want us to know you were there.”

Kakashi shrugged. “I knew you were off-duty. If you made for the ANBU compound I had every intention to drag you back to your apartment… By force if necessary.”

As emotionless as she always was under the mask, Ume drawled, “As if you could. Retired, old geezer getting one over on me. What a laugh.” 

Kakashi smiled. “We could spar if you need a refresher course on just how old I am.”

“Nah.” Ume shrugged, before idly rotating a shoulder to release tension. “How embarrassing would it be if I kicked your ass even half-dead?”

He chuckled and they fell silent, taking the familiar wall back to Ume’s apartment in comfortable quiet.

“I’m still furious with you, you know…”

She sighed. “I know.”

“After you’ve slept and eaten properly, I’m going to light your ass up for how you’ve been acting.”

“You always were kink-”

“Don’t try to deflect with humor, Um-_ Weasel. _ I’m not playing with you. What you did was dangerous and arrogant-”

“You think I don’t know that?” She huffed. “You think I don’t know that I’m an idiot? What else can I do though? What other options are there?” She fell silent. “What would you have done?”

He sighed. “Probably exactly what you did… but that doesn’t mean it’s healthy. We both know that I haven’t always been the picture of mental health.”

She snorted. “Now who’s deflecting?”

“You worried everyone, Weasel. Your father, your brother - _both brothers,_ Hiru came to the apartment to chew you out, did you know that? - Gai is worried… _I am worried_.”

* * *

Ume stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body, bending over at the waist she wrapped her long blonde hair in a towel. She dried off quickly, putting on underwear. On the floor outside of the bathroom, she found one of Kakashi’s over-shirts. She slipped it on over the towel on her head and walked into the bedroom, towel drying her hair.

“That was a long shower.” Kakashi sat up against the pillows, his ever-present book in his lap.

Ume smiled sheepishly “I sat down in the tub and fell asleep.” 

Kakashi pulled his mask off of his face and smiled. “I took a nap myself.”

She dropped the towel in a basket by the door and walked towards her dresser. Picking up her hairbrush and pulling the thick mass of blond hair over her shoulder, she caught Kakashi’s eye.

“When are Naruto and Sasuke going to start training?” She sat on the end of the bed, next to Kakashi’s hip and started to brush out her hair.

“Naruto has already started to train. I’m going to give Sasuke a couple more days to heal up. No sense in training when he’s still out of chakra.” 

Ume frowned. “Who is Naruto training with, if not with you?”

“My original plan was for him to train with Ebisu.”

Ume snorted. “Did you really think that was going to work? I can’t even respect Ebisu and I was one of his Genin teammates.”

Kakashi chuckled and lackadaisically defended the man. “He is an elite tutor and his specialty is chakra control, which Naruto needs a lot of help with.”

“Okay, so what if he is?” She sat her brush on the side table. “Asking a kid like Naruto to train with someone he doesn’t respect, while you, someone he respects a lot, trains his rival, is like asking for trouble. In fact, training with Ebisu is torture to begin with. He’s an elitist jackass and I can’t imagine he thinks highly of Naruto.”

Kakashi smiled, running a hand up her back. “He might be the only person you don’t like.”

She sulked. “He doesn’t like me back, so no one’s feelings were hurt, believe me.”

Kakashi massaged the back of her neck. “I never understood why you never got along with either of your teammates.”

Ume spared a dry glance at Kakashi. “Our team was doomed from the get go. A thirteen-year-old grad, a ten-year-old grad and a nine-year-old grad in one team. We couldn’t stand each other. They never took me seriously and once I figured out that I couldn’t make them my friends, I just gave up trying.” She shrugged and ran her fingers through her hair. 

“Then to add insult to injury, I was the only one from our team to make Chuunin in that first exam. Me: the no-talent civilian-born ninja was chosen over the ninja born with a silver spoon in his mouth and one who thought his family name made him awesome.” She smirked over her shoulder at Kakashi. “I think it stung at their pride a little.”.

Kakashi shrugged. “I don’t think Ebisu minds Naruto all that much, in fact I kind of think he likes him, but it doesn’t matter; Ebisu informed me that in typical Naruto fashion, Naruto went and found his own sensei.” Kakashi paused and rubbed his hand down her shoulder, causing his shirt to slide off of her shoulder. “Naruto is training with Jiraiya.”

Ume stiffened and turned to face him fully, sitting cross-legged on her bed. “Jiraiya? As in Three Sannin, Toad Mountain Sage, Jiriaya?” Kakashi nodded grinning and she continued, eyes still wide. “Well, it certainly worked out for better. Think of all the things Jiraiya can teach him.”

Kakashi nodded and tried to persuade her to lie down. Smiling, she brought her hair over her shoulder and began to braid it. Kakashi grabbed her hand. “Leave it, I never see your hair down.”

She nodded. “That’s ‘cause it’s a bitch and a half to brush out if I don’t braid it before I go to bed.”

“Leave it.”

She shook her head and did as he asked. Laying down next to him, she sighed and made to speak.

“Don’t think about it, you’ll just make yourself sick,” Kakashi cut her off. “I told you their deaths are on my conscience.”

“They were my men, Kashi. Doesn’t matter who assembled the team, they were my men.” She sighed. “I personally trained Cicada. He had only been out of training for a year. I helped Tanuki with his captain’s exam just last week, he was only three questions away from passing the damn thing. Tiger… Tiger’s wife just-”

“I know. I know.” He nudged her on her side and buried his face in her hair.

“I can’t stop thinking about it.” Ume sighed and swiped a hand over her face. She huffed lightly and turned towards Kakashi. “Promise that if I die on duty,” She paused searching for words, putting a hand to Kakashi’s mouth when he tried to interrupt. “Just promise to visit my grave every once and awhile. I don’t want to disappear.”

Kakashi reached a hand to her cheek and pulled her down closer to his mouth. “You won’t disappear.”

“Promise.” 

He smiled. “I promise.”

* * *

She always woke up slowly on her days off, her mind cloudy and confused, working harder than normally necessary to piece together the where and how of her situation. As she turned over, she tried to focus on guessing the time without looking at her clock. Judging by the light-

“It’s about two o’clock in the afternoon, I went and got lunch.”

Ume sat up, accepting the bundle from Kakashi. “Let’s go eat this in the kitchen.” She made a face. “No crumbs in the bed.” She stood and followed Kakashi out into the living areas of the apartment.

Sitting down at the table, they dug in silently, munching away at the tempura Kakashi had picked up.

When they were done, Kakashi slouched back in his chair. “We have a meeting in two hours. You need to get dressed, I don’t think the Hokage would appreciate you showing up in my shirt.”

Ume frowned, her brow furrowing in confusion. She started to gather dishes and question him from the sink, “What meeting? I don’t remember a meeting being scheduled.”

“The messengers came when you were asleep. You didn’t even try to wake up, you were so tired-”

“Messengers? As in plural?” She turned to look at him. “Why were there multiple messengers?”

Kakashi sighed. “An ANBU messenger stopped by about an hour after you fell asleep. I chose not to wake you up-”

“What happened, Kakashi?” She leveled a solemn look at him. “Who died and how?”

“Hayate Gekko.” Kakashi stood and walked towards her. “And we don’t know how it happened just yet, that’s what the meeting is for.”

Ume paused. “Does Yugao know?”

Kakashi paused. “Yes, Yugao’s team found him.”

Ume sucked in a sharp breath. “She was the messenger... wasn’t she?”

Kakashi nodded.

“I wasn’t there when she needed me.”

Kakashi shook his head. “She’s on duty, she shouldn’t have even stopped by your apartment, she broke protocol. You’re on-”

“I am her captain, Kakashi! Her _fucking _captain.” Ume was seething. “And one of very few female ANBU. they only friend she has that understands what she’s going through. If she can’t trust me to be there when she needs me, who can she take this to? Boar? Fox?”

He steered her towards a chair and sat back on his haunches to look into her eyes. “Calm down and take care of yourself for a change. You’ve actually literally worried yourself sick. You’ve lost at least ten, maybe even fifteen pounds since the beginning of the exams and it’s been barely a month!”

She waved him off. 

He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. “You’re not doing this again, Ume. I know you’re upset and you’ve every right to be, but you’re not shutting me out.”

“Kaka-”

“_Kashi._ You call me Kashi. You always have and you always will.” He growled. “Quit trying to distance yourself from me in case I die-” 

Ume pulled her chin free and turned her head. 

“Ume, I have no intention of dying anytime soon.”

“And you can control- _decide _\- when you’re gonna die, _Kakashi?_ Now who’s arrogant?”

“I am, if it makes you feel better. I am arrogant enough to assume that I can fight off Orochimaru if need be. If it means that I get to spite you, I’m going to fuckin’ stay alive just to do it.”

She rolled her eyes. “Quit tryin’ to be funny.”

“I’m not. I’m trying to take care of you, since you seen utterly unwilling to take care of yourself.”

“We have more important things to take care of right now.”

“I don’t.”

Glaring, she sneered at him. “I may be arrogant, but I’m not stupid enough to think I’m more important than the security of this village.”

“Matter of perspective, I assume.”

“And priorities.” She sighed heavily. “We have jobs to do, _responsibilities-_“

“You’re right. I’m taking care of mine. Can you say the same?”

Ume froze, saying very softly, very carefully: “I am not your responsibility.”

He scoffed, trying to catch her eye again. “How do you figure?”

She glared at him out of the corner of her eye. “How do _you figure?”_

He shrugged. “You are my best friend. You have been a vital part of my life since I was five, Ume. When I couldn’t take care of myself, you took care of me. You kicked my ass after my father killed himself. You supported me even when I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps after Obito-” 

He coughed into his fist. “_After_ Obito. You allied yourself with Minato-sensei to force me out of ANBU when you knew I could no longer handle it and remain sane. You have been with me for all of my adult life. I don’t know what would’ve happened to me without you.”

“So this is quid-pro-quo? I absolve-”

“_Quid-pro-quo?_” He cussed under his breath, hand on her knee tightening suddenly. “This is a _relationship_, you fool.” 

He saw the fear ignite in her eyes and braced himself for what could come out of her mouth next.

Or he tried.

“Really, Kakashi.” She cleared her throat. “We fuck on occasion-”

“We fuck almost _every day_, but that’s not what this is about and you know it, Ume. Don’t pretend like this didn’t mean anything to you.”

“Kakashi-”

“_Kashi- _damn it.”

“It’s been good and all.” Her eyes were wide, panicked. “And it’s been conven-”

“Don’t you fuckin’ dare.”

“Kaka-”

“_Kashi!” _He shoved to his feet to avoid shaking her. “God damn it, Ume! Quit trying to prepare for something that you don’t know will happen.”

“Look, I don’t know what you want from me.”

“You know exactly what I want from you.” Kakashi ran a hand through his hair. “I want you to admit the truth… about yourself, about me, about this whole fucked situation. The Truth.”

“And what is the truth? Please tell me so I can be in the same page.”

“The truth, _friend,_ is that this is more than that. Regardless of whether you want to admit it. This has always been more and you know it.”

“Kashi.”

He took a deep breath. “You don’t need to say it and I don’t need to hear it. I know you’re terrified, that what might happen is all you can think about, but what is happening- _this_ -“ he motioned between them. “This is important to you and, like me, without this you’re gonna fall apart under the weight of your responsibilities. Don’t push me away or block me out. You can’t do this alone.”

They stared at each other for a long time, blue panic clashed with angry, but _patient, _grey. 

Ume swallowed dryly and blinked a bit too rapidly. “I don’t know-“ she stuttered to a stop. “Kashi.”

He sighed heavily and nodded. “I know, Ume, I know. It’s okay though. It’s going to be okay. I’m going to be for you what you’ve always been for me. _Always_, Ume, I promise you.”

She nodded and reached out to grab a fistful of his pant leg, drawing him close enough to press her forehead against his stomach. “I’m sorry.”

Kakashi sighed, squatting so he could draw her into his arms. 

She cursed under her breath and pressed her face into his shoulder. “I wish I wasn’t so difficult.”

He chuckled. “You’ve always been difficult.”

They fell silent for a moment, Kakashi shifted to pull into his lap, seated on the floor.

“I wish I understood more of what you’re going through…. I know you’re scared, that this _premonition_ has tied you in knots… but I don’t understand why your reaction is so intense. You’ve lost men before.”

“Never this many.” She shook her head. “I can deal with a failed recovery mission, we can always do that again, find another way to get at whatever objective we have. But if I fail this time... Kashi, if I fail, we all could die, every single last one of us.”

“You aren’t on your own. You have ten squads, forty ninja out there, who are willing to lay their life down for this village and for you. Acting this way - stubbornly trying to do everything and not taking care of yourself doesn’t help them and it doesn’t help you.” He prodded her to stand and stood after her, leaning over to kiss her lightly.

Ume sighed and nodded. “I can’t fail, Kakashi.”

Kakashi kissed her quickly, sighing. Smiling softly, he pushed her towards the bedroom. “Get dressed the Hokage wants us.”

* * *

“I’m sorry.”

Yugao swiveled towards Ume on the tree branch, her mask hiding her features. “What for? Hayate’s death had nothing to do with you.”

Ume shrugged. “I still feel responsible... And I could have at least been there for you when you called on me.”

Yugao shook her masked head. “Don’t. We all know that out of all of us, you’ve been having the hardest time sleeping. I was hoping to catch you before you fell asleep.”

Ume nodded and turned to leave. “I can’t be here and you can’t be distracted... I’ll just go-”

“Ume?” Ume looked over her shoulder at Yugao.

“Yeah?”

“What would you have done if it had been Kakashi?”

Une looked down and sighed. “I feel like I’m supposed to tell you that I would stand strong and keep on going but… given my recent behavior… Fuck if I know. I mean, I have him and I’m still coming apart at the seams.”

Yugao nodded. “That’s a mood.” She paused. “This has barely begun and already the losses are piling up. How are we actually going to handle Orochimaru and whatever allies he has if he’s just barely tipped his hand and we’re already in a frenzy.”

Ume sighed. “They should’ve put him down years ago. We wouldn’t be in this mess if we just did what we had to do, however unpleasant.”

“Affection is a strong thing.” Yugao shrugged. “And who’s to say that he was past redemption all those years ago? Or that he is now?”

“Redemption?” Ume snorted. “I’m not concerned with redemption. I’m concerned with the war he’s waging on my comrades, my friends, my family.”

“Ume, I’m going to say this as your friend and as your kouhai, someone who is very, very fond of you. Don’t let Orochimaru steal what makes you you. Don’t let him make you cynical and angry. We would be losing a valuable resource and we can’t afford that right now. We’re already limping.” 

“Limping will get us to the finish line and that’s all I care about.”


	6. Day 9529

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m fine with class for the semester!!! Yay me!!! Hopefully I can get a lot more done in this over the break! Drop me a line if you enjoyed it!!

** _Warnings: Character death._ **

** __ **

_ **Day 9529** _

“I don’t like this.”

“Duly noted, daughter.” Hiruzen Sarutobi grinned at his adopted daughter. “As it was the last three or four times you voiced said opinion.”

She didn’t turn grin back. Behind her mask, her eyes scanned the arena. 

_Eight entrances into the arena proper, sixteen gates around the outside of the arena._

_We couldn’t keep him out of the fucking Forest of Death, how are we going to keep our people safe in this monstrosity?_

“Weasel!”

She jumped and turned toward the Old Man. “What?”

“If you keep ruminating-“

“I’m not ruminating, I’m strategizing.”

He rolled his eyes. “I know you, Nagasaki Ume. You’re ruminating.”

She shrugged and peered out over the arena.

“If this all goes badly-“

She glanced and turned sharply to look at him. “No.”

He sighed. “If it goes wrong, I want you to know that I consider you my daughter in every way- except genetic. Can’t argue with that, I suppose.”

“Old Man. Stop.”

“You are my daughter and I have been so immeasurably proud to have had you in my life.”

“You’re not dying. Stop.”

He huffed. “For all we know, you could die.”

She shrugged and turned away, muttering. “That would be the better of the two options.”

“No, it wouldn’t.” He glared at her. 

She glared right back. “You are Hokage.”

“I am old.”

“You can’t die.” She turned to face him fully and gestured widely at the empty arena. “Who will lead us if you die? What will we do?”

“You will carry on!” She jumped at his raised voice. “You will carry on building this new shinobi world. A world in which you, Asuma, Gai, Kakashi and the children of this new generation can live not as weapons for an impending war, but as people. Free to make choices and to love.”

She gaped at him.

He nodded. “And if it comes down to me or you. You are hereby ordered to make sure that it’s you. You must keep going.”

She glared at him. “That order is in direct contradiction to the oaths I took upon becoming ANBU and is therefore null and void.”

“A fine politician. One day, daughter, you will help lead this village into the new world.” He smiled softly and set his hand on her shoulder. “As your father then, surely you won’t deny me the respect due as your father. And as your father, I command you to make sure that you stay alive.” 

He smiled softly at her and picked up her hand from where it hung limp at her side. “I have lived a long and very full life. I have loved fiercely, fought bravely, achieved much. I have raised three children with a woman I love, and all three are set to take up my mantle and bring honor to my clan. If it comes down to me and you. You are to choose you, daughter.”

“I can’t promise that.”

He nodded. “I know because I know you, but I will.”

* * *

_Crackle, fuzz. _Cat’s voice filtered over the earpiece in her ear and over the conversation between the two Kages. _ “Weasel-taichou, where is Kakashi and the Uchiha?”_

Ume shifted in her position behind the Hokage. She sighed and whispered softly. “I have no idea. He doesn’t tell me anything. Ask the outside surveillance teams if there has been any sign of them.”

_“Roger.”_

“Weasel.”

Ume shifted slightly closer to the Hokage. “Yes, Lord Hokage?”

“Tell me that someone has eyes on Kakashi and his pupil.” He slanted a look back at her.

She shook her head, her mask rasping against her white hood. “No, sir. You know Kakashi, if he doesn’t want to be found then he won’t be found.”

The Hokage smiled. “I would hope that he would at least do you the consideration of telling you where he would be.”

Ume blushed under her mask. “No sir. He’s kind of a jerk like that.”

The Hokage chuckled softly. “Very well then, we will make an exception. We shall postpone this match and wait.” He turned over his shoulder and told Raido to inform the proctor, then turned back towards the Kazekage. “However it is most unusual for you to insist so strongly, Lord Kazekage.”

“In order to display the full strength of our village’s ninja, no opponent but an Uchiha will do. This is a big chance for Sasuke, yes; but a big opportunity for us as well.”

A chill chased down Ume’s spine as the sand ninja in the next match withdrew. She had seen that kid fight, sure Shino had already proved to be tough, but that kid could have taken him. So much for showing off the strength of the Hidden Sand’s ninja. 

Speaking as softly as absolutely possible, Ume spoke into the mic hidden in her mask. “Everyone: heads up... Something feels wrong.”

The answer was subdued.

* * *

A fight and ten minutes later, staring down into the arena at the Uchiha and his opponent, the churning feeling in her stomach had only intensified. She couldn’t shake the feeling that someone in the arena had ulterior motives, that something just wasn’t jiving. It was like knowing someone in the room was talking behind her back. 

She stepped slightly closer to the Hokage, hoping that if anything did go wrong she could respond quickly. She knew she shouldn’t have let the Hokage talk her into being one of his guards. Cat was much better suited to this type of situation.

“You seem tense, ANBU-san.”

Her eyes flew to the Kazekage and met his eyes, the sand ninja next to him shifting slightly and stiffly. 

“I am just excited to watch the match, Lord Kazekage.” This guy gave her the creeps.

_“Weasel-taichou. The bodies of Grass ninja have been found within the arena.”_

Ume turned from the Kazekage. Depressing the push-to-talk button, she whispered into her mic. “What?

_“They were crushed, Taichou and there is sand everywhere.”_

Ume head swiveled on a stiff neck to look at the Kazekage, who was staring at her like he had heard the message. What did you unleash here?

She turned away again. “Get two ANBU from the outside squads and get those bodies out of the arena, notify who ever they belong to quickly.”

_“Yes, Taichou.”_

Ume shifted forward a slight bit more, eyes on the fight. The Uchiha looked impressive, and he was faster... and more arrogant. She chuckled slightly despite the tension. He was turning out more and more like Kakashi everyday.

Ume’s brow furrowed, eyes on the Sand Ninja. The boy was sluggish at best, downright immobile in the face of the Uchiha’s speed. 

She watched as the the red-head dropped into a stance, gathering the sand around him to form a ball around his body. Sasuke made an attempt to break the shield and got a couple sharp, pointy sand spikes for his trouble. A short while later a third eye appeared. He apparently had decided to hole up in there for awhile. Must have something up his sleeve.

Another volley of ineffective attacks and Sasuke backed off, pausing for a moment before vaulting up the side of the arena. After a succession of hand-signs that she couldn’t help but recognize, she gasped. “Holy hell.”

Both Kage looked sharply at her in askance, but she just stared up at the Uchiha’s arm, crackling with visible chakra.

“That technique, it’s Kakashi’s.” The Hokage was as shocked as she was.

“Yes sir, it is.”

“He proves to be more and more like his sensei everyday, doesn’t he, Weasel?”

Ume snorted. “Yes, my Lord, he does. Though I don’t know how that is even possible, he is so young.” 

There was a pause as the Uchiha raced down the side of the stadium and plunged his hand deep into the sphere of sand. The stadium erupted in roars of encouragement for the Uchiha, before going silent when nothing else happened. Then suddenly from within the sphere came a blood-curdling scream.

“Blood! It’s my BLOOD!”

The Uchiha started and struggled to free his arm, eventually resorting to another Chidori to loosen the sand. When the sand gave way, the Uchiha pulled his arm free, pulling a strange, fleshy blue veined appendage out with it. The stadium was silent just staring at the sphere.

The sand disintegrated, revealing a bleeding Gaara. The boy was breathing hard and staring at nothing.

A thrill raced down her back.

Again she turned to look at the Kazekage. What did he do to this boy? 

A second later, the Kages turned to stare at each other, the Kazekage got a strange look in his eye, before drawling an ominous: “So, shall we begin?”

Suddenly one of the Sand ninja guarding the Kazekage rushed forward releasing a smoke bomb.

Ume threw her cloak off and stepped in front of the Hokage, drawing a kunai in each hand.

Two kunai flew past her face, and she turned over her shoulder to watch as Raido slid down the wall behind the Hokage’s chair. 

A second later, one of the Sand Ninja rushed her, she sparred with him for minute before she felt the second ninja approach from her side.

She dodged his kick and caught his following left hook, throwing him over her shoulder and into his comrade. Both hit the wall with enough force to knock the sense out of them.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Kazekage carry her father to the roof and followed.

She approached slowly, aware of the kunai the Kazekage had to The Old Man’s throat.

“You really are impressive, Ume-chan. It’s no wonder Sensei spent so much time and effort on you.” 

She cussed as she recognized Orochimaru’s voice. “I should have fuckin’ known. You made my skin crawl the minute you entered the booth.”

“How would your mother feel, hearing those words come from your mouth?” He grinned and pulled the borrowed face off. “I don’t mean Biwako, of course. Your birth mother. The one your father-“

She grit her teeth fighting for her composure. “Fuck.”

“Daughter, you can’t let him rile you. Don’t play his game.”

“Daughter?” Orochimaru snickered. “Surely not, Sensei. She just the civilian-born whelp of a laborer and his whore.”

She took a deep breath, trying to ignore him. “Lord Hokage, I need to get you out of here.”

“Lord Hokage? My, my… She certainly knows her place, doesn’t she?” He grinned as the sand ninjas go ally joined them on the roof. “You’re welcome to leave, Ume-chan. But your father isn’t going anywhere.”

The sand ninja stood and she pulled another kunai and began frantically calling in the troops over her mic. The sand ninja charged and she sparred with them, managing to lodge a kunai in one ninja’s throat, sending him sliding down the tiled roof.

Out of nowhere, she felt an arm around her throat. She threw her arm back, kunai clutched in hand, and caught Orochimaru in the thigh.

He chucked through grit teeth. “I really must insist you leave, Taichou.”

“Daughter.”

She turned to look at the Old Man out of the corner of her eye. 

“It’s going to be you.” He smiled softly. “I love you.”

Orochimaru laughed outright and threw her from the roof. She landed hard on her side on the roof of the floor below, before she went careening down the clay roof, sending shingles every which way. 

As she neared the edge of the roof, she managed to throw out a hand, stabbing a kunai into the roof’s drain work. Using the arm on the uninjured side of her body, she swung up and steadied herself on the edge of the roof. A second later, as she was trying to catch her breath, the chanting on the ninjas erecting the barrier filling her ears, when a wall of black cloaked ninja appeared before her. 

"Tenzou!" 

Tenzou, Cat pushed through to the front of the group. "Yes, Taichou."

“Take your squad. Break that barrier, ASAP. Raido is injured and the Hokage is still in there with Orochimaru. I want him out of there now.”

“Yes, Taichou.”

“The rest of you.” Ume stood and adjusted her mask. “They’ve attacked this village when our hand was outstretched in peace. I want blood. No mercy!”

“Yes, Buchou!” 

She almost jumped. That response hadn’t just been ANBU but well over half the ninja in the stadium. 

“Of course, Buchou.” Despit the circumstances Cat managed to sound almost proud and nodded, adding: “Squad One, above. Squad Two, below; protect the nobles.”

Ume switched the station on the earbud and pushed the push-to-talk button. “Outside crews: we have a security breach within the arena. I repeat, there has been a security breach in the arena. Back-up requested.”

There was an eerie answering silence.

“I need a reply now.”

There was a crackling, faint response._ “I don’t think that’s going to happen, Taichou. We’re being invaded.”_

Ume swore violently, switched the station back, and pushed the PTT button. Taking a deep breath, she delivered the bad news. “We fight alone. I repeat: there will be no reinforcements. We are being invaded. We defend the arena alone.”

_“Roger.”_

Ume made jump up to the upper level, only to be headed off by a dozen Sound ninja. She shook her head and smiled under her mask. She tsked and spoke, her voice smooth and emotionless. “Hello.”

A second later two Sound Ninja slid off the roof, clutching at the kunai lodged in their throats. Ume unsheathed the sword on her back and their comrades rushed her.

Almost simultaneously, chaos broke over the stadium, every Leaf ninja fighting for their village. Unfortunately for the Sound ninja in the stadium, they had attacked the wrong village.

* * *

Ume could feel her body physically slowing, every step coming a fraction of a second later than the step previous. She had long since reverted to pure taijutsu to conserve as much chakra as possible, but, as she pulled yet another kunai from some bleeding appendage or another, she realized that if this fight didn’t end soon, she would have more chakra than blood.

The first two twelve-man platoons had been easy to dispatch, it seemed as though Orochimaru was just pulling common thugs off the streets these days, but that original platoon had been replaced at least three times already and the leader of this platoon was no common ninja.

“Your taijutsu is strong, lady and you’ve proved that you ANBU captains are no joke, but you’ve lost a lot of blood.” His mask hid his face, but his eyes were arrogant.

Thinking as sluggishly as she was starting to move, she searched for anyway to end this fight quickly. This seemed to be the last of the platoons sent to slow her down, but it also seemed to be a stronger, more advanced team than the last four platoons. Sighing, she shook her head.

“C’mon, Bitch give up already.” 

The leader of the team glared down at the ninja who had just spoken. “Put a lid on it. You piss her off we’ll be sending you home in a body bag and that’s more trouble than you’re worth.”

Ume chuckled, grateful yet again for the mask that hid her emotions, shrugged and back-flipped off of the roof. As she fell, she performed a series of hand signs. Landing in a deep crouch, she glanced up at the Sound ninja on the roof, trying to decide whether or not to follow her down into the middle of the arena.

“You know the orders, we’re to keep this ANBU captain busy so she can’t give orders or rally any troops. Get down there.”

Once all of the Sound ninja stood in front of her, she planted her hands into the ground. “Earth Style: Dropping Lid!”

The earth shook as a giant boar shaped lid dropped over the Sound ninja. Another quick succession of hand signs and she dived into the earth. She travelled under the earth lid and pulled each Sound ninja into the earth below their feet. Popping up inside the earth lid, she chuckled. “Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu. You boys just hang around for a bit. I’m sure ANBU Interrogation Squad will have a few questions for you.”

She released the lid and looked around the stadium, Orochimaru’s barrier was still up. She sighed and scanned the stadium one last time.

Suddenly she stopped, noticing an extra black cloaked ANBU over by where Kakashi and Gai were fighting. She did a quick head count: counting the ANBU who died earlier, all members of the Stadium teams were accounted for.

“Genma.” 

Genma dispatched his last opponent and turned towards her.

“Yes, Buchou.”

“Watch these guys for me.” 

She vaulted up the side of the stadium, landing behind the ANBU imposter. “You’re very clever.” The fighting stopped momentarily as the Sound ninja were alerted to her presence.

She almost lost control of her anger as the imposter turned, still wearing the stolen mask.

“Somehow you knew how our rank structure was organized. Somehow you knew that it would be better to impersonate an ANBU from an outside squad. Maybe you thought they wouldn’t notice or that it would provide a decent distraction to allow your invasion squads time to get in or maybe you got lucky. Still you knew that as long as you kept your head down I wouldn’t notice you until it didn’t matter if I knew you were here.”

”Weasel-taichou, nice to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.” He tapped by his ear where the earbud was hidden. He had even known what station to listen in on.

Ume shrugged and wiped the length of her sword against her right leg. In a move fueled by anger and adrenaline, she surged forward and managed a neat flip behind him. She swung her sword downward and missed, throwing a kunai at the imposter’s retreating form. 

“You seem to have lost a lot of blood, Weasel-taichou.” The stolen mask mocked her. “Maybe you should sit down.”

“Fuck you.”

“I would have never expected such ugly language from a woman.”

Ume gritted her teeth, her body shaking with the effort it took to reign in her normally dormant temper.

“Do you think that you can save your village? You couldn’t even keep this poor sop alive.” He tapped the center of the mask and she lurched forward on unsteady legs.

“WEASEL!”

Ume started at the sound of Kakashi’s voice and the imposter took her lapse of concentration as a chance to escape into the center of the arena.

She moved to follow, only to be blocked by Kakashi. “You don’t have the strength to fight him right now. Stop.”

She pressed forward. “He had to have killed Noburu to get that mask.”

“I’ll take care of it. You can’t beat him right now.”

Her knees buckled, the adrenaline wearing off in a sudden rush. Still she tried to pull herself to her feet. “You know who he is.” She buckled again.

Kakashi caught her wrist and pulled her arm over his shoulder. 

“I’ll take care of it.” 

She felt her body sag, then all went black.

* * *

Ume moved gingerly, careful not to pull the literally hundred stitches that were currently holding her body together. She carefully wrapped each wound, hoping to protect it from the rain that was sure to fall today. Pulling on her, ceremonial black robes and sandals. Silently, almost reverently, she left her apartment through the door and locked it before making her way in the opposite direction of Hokage tower.

It took her nearly twice as long as normal to get there, but a full ten minutes later she walked up to the memorial stone, staring at the three people found there. She nodded, half-stunned, at Jiraiya. 

Moving pass the Sannin, she knelt next to Yugao. “So much for limping to the finish line.”

“The village is still standing”

Ume paused and swallowed thickly. “Is it? I haven’t noticed.”

“This isn’t your fault, Ume.”

“It feels like it.” She swallowed. “I passed out before he died, Yugao. I wasn’t even awake when he died.”

Yugao nodded and stood. She smiled sadly at Ume. “Yeah, I know, but it isn’t your fault, I promise.” She nodded briefly at Ume, before turning and leaving Kakashi and Ume alone. 

Ume said a quick prayer and turned toward Kakashi. “Ready?”

Kakashi stood, looking down at his hands. “Are you okay?”

“No.”

He nodded and, for the first time in ever really, he turned to her and laid his hand in the small of her back. 

“You haven’t gone to the med-nin.”

“Nope.” She let guide her gently closer to his side. “No I haven’t.”

“Your mother won’t like that.”

“I..” she paused and swallowed dryly. “I imagine she has more important things to think about.”

Kakashi sighed. “More important than her daughter?”

She snorted. “What sort of daughter am I?”

“A daughter who commanded the Leaf in its time of weakness. I don’t find it likely that she will neglect you in yours.”

Biwako didn’t.

She had taken one look at Ume and had spent the entirety of the funeral with a hand glowing green with chakra on Ume’s back.


	7. Day 9538

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys…. Sorry it’s been so long… I’ve been crazy busy, like no days off busy and then the first part of my COVID-cation has been spent doing homework. I’m going to try and be more proactive getting this story updated and completed but I know better than to make promises.
> 
> Also… on a rather random note. I’ve been working on a ItachixOC/Itachi!Lives AU that I’m nowhere near done with or even particularly sure I will ever post. The OC appears here briefly, let me know what you think.

** _Day 9538_ **

Kakashi sighed as he entered Ume’s apartment, closing the door behind him. The room was uncharacteristically filthy, clothes everywhere, her ANBU uniform wadded up and thrown in a corner, still covered in dried blood and riddled with small kunai holes. He shook his head and made his way to the closed bedroom door. 

Filth yet again... but to no Ume.

Kakashi sighed, left the bedroom and quickly moved to lock the door to the apartment before performing a quick set of hand signs. Next he checked the memorial stone, then the ANBU headquarters and graveyard and there wasn’t a blond-headed kuniochi in sight.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Kakashi ran through a list of other possible locations. He soon ran out of ideas and raised his head, wiping a hand over his face. Glaring out at Hokage Mountain, he chuckled suddenly. 

Why hadn’t he thought of that?

A second later, he reappeared on top of Hokage Mountain and the beginning of the ramp that led to the left side of the Third’s monument. He started down the ramp, spotting a little blond speck tucked into a corner. As he got closer he realized that she was leaning back against the side of the monument, her arms wrapped around her knees. He sucked in a breath, there were deep bags under her eyes and she had lost yet more weight.

The temporary suspension of ANBU operations until the next Hokage was named had given her more time than was healthy for her to sit and mull over the Chuunin Exam. She had been impossibly upset after the Third died, now, if possible, she was worse.

Kakashi squatted down in front of her, brushing her loose hair from her eyes. “Ume?”

“Hey, what’s up.” She looked up, her eyes bloodshot and glassy. 

Kakashi shrugged. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“How’s Sasuke doin’?” She shrugged and tucked her chin into the circle of her arms, breaking eye contact.

“He’s been better.” He sighed. “How long have you been out here?”

“Midnight.”

Kakashi cursed and moved to lift her to her feet by her arms. Ume flinched away from him, protesting weakly as he swung her into his arms.

A swift succession of hand signs brought the two back to Ume’s apartment. He set her down on her feet and as he unlocked the door, she tried to move away from him towards the stairs out of the apartment building. He grabbed her arm and tucked her against his body as he jerked the door open. 

Closing and locking the door behind him, he gently pushed her into the living room of the apartment, watching perplexed as her gaze, blank though it was, focused immediately on the bloody uniform on the floor. He walked past her, picked up the uniform and brought it into the kitchen, hiding it from her view.

Walking back towards her, he ushered her into her bedroom. “Go get cleaned up.” Kakashi tugged on her shirt, trying to persuade her to lift her arms. 

She stared blankly at him.

“We’re going to lunch with Asuma and Kurenai.”

She winced. “No.”

Kakashi shook his head and started tugging her shirt over her head. She pushed at his shoulder. “Fuck off.”

He lifted his hands and backed a step away. “Go get cleaned up. Your brother wants to see you. Apparently, in addition to avoiding me, you’ve been avoiding your family.”

She grit her teeth and looked away. 

“You have got to stop pushing people away, Ume.”

“I don’t want to talk about this again.”

“We never talked about it to begin with, Ume.” Kakashi brushed his hair away from his face, frustrated. “This lone-wolf bullshit isn’t you and I’m tired of it. Your father-”

“Stop.”

“He adopted you, Ume… it’s official now.”

She waved him off.

“You are the Honorable Daughter of the Third Hokage. Lady Sarutobi Ume.”

A sob caught in her throat and Kakashi sucked in a breath. “Ume.” He reached for her and she stepped out of his reach. 

“You know my dad always used to say I was a shit daughter. I never obeyed, never heeded what he told me.”

“He was never your father. He only cared about his next drink.”

“_Useless bitch. Just like your goddamn fuckin’ mother._” She laughed. “I guess this is proof. I can’t even do my job right. The one thing I was good at and I fucked it up.”

“Ume, he was a drunk. He didn’t know a puddle from his own ass half the time.” Kakashi grabbed her shoulders and pulled her closer, resisting her efforts to move away. “He wouldn’t know a good thing if it slapped the bottle from his hand. He didn’t know what he had, never did. Not with your birth mom, and sure as fuck, not with you.”

“What kind of ANBU passes out before her Hokage dies?” She sobbed. “I wasn’t there when he needed me, Kashi.”

“Orochimaru, did everything he could to make sure you wouldn’t be, Ume.” Kakashi caught her eyes. “He sent _dozens_ of ninja to slow you down so you couldn’t be there. I’m sure your father knew exactly how hard you fought, Ume, how hard you tried to be the best for him.”

She pulled away from him, stalking further into her living room. “I obviously didn’t try hard enough.” 

“How could you have stopped it?” Kakashi rarely ever raised his voice and Ume jumped, turning toward him and staring at him wide eyed. “How, Ume? You’ve seen Orochimaru in action, so how would you have handled him? What jutsus would you have used to disable him? You saw what the Hokage resorted to and Orochimaru survived even that! So how would you have done better?”

Ume looked down and away. “If only I could have bought the Hokage some time-”

“You would have never survived.”

“I would gladly-”

“Don’t you dare.” Kakashi’s jaw clenched. “Don’t insult his sacrifice like that.”

“It’s a reality of our work, Kakashi, you’re ex-ANBU, you-”

“So it’s okay if you sacrifice yourself for the village but the Hokage needs your permission to die-”

She glared at him. “We need the Hokage, Kashi, his death has torn the bleeding heart out of this village, we _mourn_-”

“I would mourn-”

She was getting frustrated, which was out of character for her. “It’s not the same, Kashi. You know this. Da.... _the Hokage’s_ death has had effects beyond the immediately obvious. My death-”

“-Would break Asuma’s heart, and Kurenai, Hiru, your _mother_ would grieve.”

She took a deep breath. “My death would be almost completely anonymous, I would be just another black marble cube in a sea of black marble cubes. The sixteenth Weasel to be interred in that cemetery.” Her face was blank and cold. “Did you know that my predecessor died on his first mission as an ANBU? He made a careless mistake and ended up at the bottom of a ravine. The Weasel before that was captured by enemy operatives and tortured. And before that, Weasel was poisoned on a mission and didn’t make it back, he was only seventeen, had been an ANBU less than a year. I’m the only Weasel to ever make it past five years of service and the only captain. When I got my mask, my training captain laughed and said that it figured that I got the Weasel mask. He said that Weasel’s never make it very long.” She chuckled lowly. “I’m living on borrowed time as it is.”

“Stop it.” Kakashi leaned over her, caging her against the wall, nearly growling as he glared down at her. “Stop acting so glib about death. It doesn’t suit you.”

“Maybe it should.” Ume shrugged. looking down at her feet. “Maybe life would be easier if I was comfortable with death.”

“Do you remember what I was like after… Obito?”

She paused, eyeing him and nodded. 

“How long did you put up with the bullshit I pulled before you went to Minato-sensei? Two weeks? I always wondered.”

“Two days.” She swallowed. “He didn’t - _couldn’t_ \- take you out of the field then. He said he needed you too badly but that he would try to get you to open up some. Asked me if I could help. It’s half the reason he assigned me to ANBU so early.”

He shook his head. “No, Ume. He assigned you so quickly because he knew you’d be one of the best damn ANBU Konoha had ever seen, and you’d keep sane while doing it, which is more than any of the rest of us managed.”

She rolled her eyes. 

“It’s true, of course, that he thought I’d need you and he was right.” Kakashi nodded. “I wouldn’t have made it if you had just let me shut myself off that way. So I’m going to be for you what you were for me. You are not the only ninja in the village.” He knocked his forehead against hers. “None of us can do this alone.”

“This?”

“Grief… _life…_ I need you to stop pushing me away, to stop pushing your brothers and your mother and your friends and your _clan_ away.”

She nodded at him, swiping at the tears on her face, and began to remove the rest of her clothing, looking so completely miserable that he laughed despite the rather depressing circumstances. “I’m asking you to take a shower, not to go drown yourself. Didn’t know you were so attached to smelling this bad.”

She managed a small smile and flicked him off, moving towards the shower.

Kakashi smiled, and listened for the rush of water. “You have ten minutes and then I’m coming in there!”

The shower turned on and five minutes later, he was stripping out of his own clothes. He entered the steamy bathroom and pulled open the shower curtain. Ume was sitting under the shower head, arms wrapped around her knees.

She glanced up at him, her eyes tired and resigned. “I’m not drowning myself, you can rest easy.”

Kakashi stepped into the shower, squinting as water hit him full in the face, and pulled her to her feet and into his arms. “Do you really think that the only reason I am here is to keep you from killing yourself?” He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “You need to look at yourself naked in a mirror more often.”

Ume sighed against his shoulder, her head against his shoulder. 

Kakashi picked up a bar of soap and, lathering it in his hands, he rubbed his hands across her shoulders, squeezing gently.

“I’m sorry, Kashi.”

“Hmm?”

“I treated you like shit this past couple months.”

“Don’t add me to the list you feel like you need to shame yourself with. I’m just fine as long as you're okay.” 

“And if I’m never okay again?”

“You’re being overdramatic.” He dropped a kiss under her ear. “Now come on, Honorable Daughter, they’re waiting for us.”

“Fuck you, asshole.” She pinched his side. “Let’s not start with this shit. It’s just going to make me hurt you.”

Kakashi grinned. “Just showing you your due respect, m’lady. You outrank me now. Gotta be respectful so you don’t find a cabana boy to fuck.”

She smiled sweetly and he knew he had taken at least one step towards healing. “I’ve outranked you since you quit ANBU, _Kashi-kun_. You are the cabana boy I fuck.”

“Oof.”

* * *

“They’ve already started on the wall.”

Kakashi nodded, hands deep in his pockets as he strolled next to her. “It seems we have a slight… detour to make before getting food.”

She frowned and turned to ask him why, when a chill raced up her spine. She turned toward the dango shop they were approaching.

“So it seems.” She scout signed to him discreetly. _Where’s Sasuke and Naruto?_

“Let’s wait for Asuma and Kurenai here.” _I’ve sent for Sasuke, Naruto is heading toward Ichiraku. Jiraiya is heading over to meet him._

_Good. I imagine that Naruto is the one he wants. _She shrugged as Kakashi pulled out his book, purposefully nonchalant. “I would prefer real food myself and Asuma’s not big into sweets either.”

“Yeah, he said he wanted BBQ.”

“He always wants BBQ.”

Asuma and Kurenai rounded the corner and Ume grinned. “A date?”

Kakashi chuckled. “You two seem to be getting along well.”

Kurenai averted her eyes and mumbled something about Anko.

Ume caught Asuma’s eye and scout-signed to him, discreetly. _Guess who showed his face?_

_I saw. How interesting… _“Why are you waiting out here? I thought we agreed on BBQ.”

“Ah? I need to buy something to put on a grave…” Kakashi shrugged. “Plus I’m meeting someone here. I’m just waiting on Sasuke. He's going to join us for lunch.”

“It’s not like you to be waiting on someone.” Asuma nodded at Ume, catching her attention. _ Is there a plan? _ “Is it for Obito?”

She nodded vaguely. _ You and Kurenai up for following them? _

_ Yeah, we can do that. _

Kakashi rubbed at the back of his neck. “Uh… Yeah sort of.”

Itachi’s companion set his tea down a bit too sharply and all four jounin turned to watch.

“Kakashi,” Sasuke eyed them as he approached, “It's not like you to show up early. What gives?”

“Well… sometimes I do.”

“False.” Ume shook her head, covertly watching the two in the tea shop get up and leave.

“Let’s eat somewhere else… I don’t have much of a sweet-tooth.”

Ume scoffed. “Who invited you, brat?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her. “I still don’t like you.”

“I'm heartbroken.” She nodded at Asuma and they followed, but not before Asuma signed, _I’m older than you, brat. Stop bossing me around._

She chuckled and flipped Asuma off. “I’m going to hang out somewhere the brat isn’t. Maybe I’ll see if Gai wants to train.”

"I thought we were going to lunch..." Sasuke looked up at Kakashi. "Where did Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei go?" 

"Must have scared them off with that scowl, squirt." 

Sasuke scoffed and Kakashi cut her a look. “You’re in no condition to be _training_, Ume.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll try to take it easy, but I’m bored.” _I at least need to be there to take them into custody if we can. _

_ANBU ops are suspended._

_ Sure they are... outside of the village. Inside the village? I can do what I want. Including fuckin' up a traitor and his fish man._ She grinned up at him.

_ Don't do anything stupid. _

“You two know that I know Scout Sign Language, right?”

“What did we say then?"

When Sasuke blushed, Ume nodded and flicked Sasuke on the tip of his nose. “That form of scout sign is above your pay grade, brat.”

He swatted at her hand and glared up at her.

“Stop antagonizing my student.” Kakashi hadn’t even looked up from his book. _I’m going to get something to keep Sasuke busy and I’ll be over there ASAP._

She nodded and made for Asuma’s chakra signature.

Ume cloaked her own chakra signature and found herself a hiding place down wind from the fight, beginning to mentally catalog all available information.

_Uchiha Itachi. 17. Probably four or five inches shorter than Asuma… that would put him at 5’8”... maybe 5’9”. He’s gotten taller._

Ume swiped a hand over her face, pushing back the memories of a shorter, more familiar version of Itachi.

_I forget how young he is. How young he was when he-_

She focused herself. 

_5’9” ish. He’s thin, probably 130/140 lbs. Dark hair, maybe a little longer than it used to be, tied back. Sharingan activated. Akatsuki robe, dark booted sandals, mid-shin, dark pants. Necklace. Standard ninja tools assumed, no indication of additional specialized weapons. _

_Hoshigaki Kisame. Age indeterminable. Much taller than Asuma, 6’3” maybe 6’4” 200+ lbs. Blue-ish skin, short dark hair, dark eyes. Attire similar to Uchiha. Samehada. Sword, easily six feet long. Covered in spikes, I guess, blue-ish not smooth, half wrapped in linen._

Kakashi dropped into her hiding space, pushing up his headband and opening the Sharingan. She tapped his leg.

_Who’s the girl?_

He shrugged. _I’ve never heard any intel mentioning her._

_Copy. _

She turned to consider the girl. _Female Unsub. 17-20 possible age. 5’ even maybe 5’2”. 130-150 lbs. Dark hair, curly… light eyes, color indeterminable at this distance. No indication of village of origin. Dark booted, knee-high sandals, dark trousers, dark shirt over mesh armor. Blue haori of indeterminable pattern. No visible Akatsuki paraphernalia on her person. Chained scythe on left side. _

_Body language is alert, tense, obviously defers to Uchiha and Hoshigaki, but a level of trust and comfort is in place._

Kakashi tapped her leg. _You have everything you need?_

She turned to Kakashi and nodded. 

_Stay here. _Kakashi made hand-signs as he stood, flash-stepping toward the battle. 

She rolled her eyes and kept track of the girl in case she tried to get involved. This was going to be a mental battle if Kakashi and Itachi had their way so she threw up a prayer that her messengers found their recipients quickly.

Leaning against the railing well away from the fight, the girl didn’t seem inclined to involve herself, or at the very least was told not to, so Ume waited and watched.

Eyes on the girl, she nearly missed Kakashi falling to his knees. Grimacing, she flash-stepped toward the battle, catching sight of the kusarigama swinging in a wide arc toward her at the last moment.

Ume kicked it out of the way and turned to face the girl, watching as the blade cackled with electricity as it came in contact with the water.

_Good thing I didn’t try to catch that._

“I can’t let you interfere, _ friend _.” The girl grinned and jumped down onto the water, her voice low and husky, deliberately casual like the bored slouch of her shoulders. “This is between those two. Sharingan vs. Sharingan.”

_Yellow. Her eyes are yellow. An Ueda. From the Cloud. How interesting. I wonder if the Raikage knows he’s got a rogue in the Akatsuki… _

“You’re welcome to try me, kid.” Ume grinned, cracking her neck. “Can’t say it’ll do you much good.”

Her grin little more than a show of teeth, the girl jerked her arm back and raised her hand to catch the scythe neatly in one palm. “Oh, I’m not worried.”

_Arrogant little fuck, aren’t ya? _Ume laughed. “You should be.” 

A flash of green and Ume grinned, performing the hand signs for an earth pillar. All at once, the earth pillar slammed into the bed of the river below where the girl had been standing and Ume flash-stepped toward Kakashi, her opponent hot on her heels. Just a fraction of a second faster, Ume made it to Kakashi, caught him by the arm and pulled him upright.

“Severe Leaf Hurricane!” Gai spun out of his kick, forcing Kisame back as the girl fell in line with Itachi.

Ume steadied Kakashi and averted her eyes. 

“You were supposed to stay out of this.”

She smiled at Kakashi. “Yeah, yeah… complain at me later when you’re not at risk of drowning yourself.”

“Nagasaki-senpai…”

She grit her teeth and ignored him. 

“You’ve gotten stronger, I see.”

Over her shoulder she could hear Gai tell Asuma and Kurenai how to counter the Sharingan. Kakashi went still and then slumped against her and she started calculating the chakra she’d need to body flicker to the hospital with his extra weight.

“Ume and Kurenai, get Kakashi to the medical corps. Asuma, you’ll be my backup.” 

Kurenai took Kakashi’s other arm and Ume nodded in the direction she planned to go. On three. 

The girl moved to follow, the chain of the scythe tinkling at her side.

“Etsui.” Itachi barked. “Kisame, stop. We’re pulling out. We’re not here to fight a full-scale battle. Tempting as it may be, it’s not the way to do this. Let’s go.”

Then they left as quickly as they came.


End file.
